Biohazard: Resident Evil VII
by Liquid
Summary: While searching for his missing wife, Ethan Winters is taken captive by the reclusive Baker Family, a group of sadistic killers who have been rendered seemingly immortal. Now Ethan must find a way to save both his wife and himself from ending up like their previous victims, while also unearthing the family's dark secrets.
1. Chapter 1 The Road to Dulvey

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter One: The Road to Dulvey**

The metal storm-door made a not so subtle squeaking sound when it was pulled open, and an even less subtle sound when allowed to slam shut, which was not the kind of impression that Ethan Winters had intended to make as he walked into the service station. The clerk behind the counter didn't seem to notice the sound; probably heard it a thousand times while working there, and the man seemed more amused by the way the sudden _bang_ had made Ethan jump than anything else.

It was hot there, too… even while inside the building it still felt like the afternoon sun was beating down, making him think that maybe he should've dressed more comfortably, instead of the slacks and collared shirt that would've worked back home. Not that it didn't get hot in Texas… God knows that it could, but it was just so damn _humid_ in Louisiana, and at least a man back home a man could get a break from the heat by stepping into the shade.

Best he could do in these parts was grab a couple of _ice teas_ from the cooler, which was a nice option, since he hadn't expected such a tiny, out of the way service station to even _have_ a working refrigerator. So he took the ice teas and a couple of small bags of potato chips up to the counter, having to make due with them since it had been a few hours since he had even _seen_ a restaurant, fast food or otherwise.

"How's it going?" Ethan asked, taking money out of his wallet. "This, and, uh, gonna put twenty in the tank. You, uh… you know how far it is to Dulvey?"

"Dulvey?" The clerk asked, smirking a little. "Yeah, you look like the type… few miles up the road they way you're headed, then take a right on _Garand Road_ , that'll get ya to the town limits. Course, you'll probably be wantin' to go left on _Lund Road_ after that, and just follow it _all_ the way to the end… bit of a drive, but you can't miss it."

The conversation had started out normal enough, but as the clerk had taken his money and counted out the change, his choice of words had started to get confusing, as if he was trying to direct Ethan somewhere. Of course, that was impossible, since they had never seen each other before, nor did the man know where he was headed. That, and he was suddenly curious to find out exactly what he _looked like the type_ for.

"Thanks." He said, taking the drinks and chips. "But, um, what exactly is at the end of Lund Road?"

" _The Dulvey Haunted House_ , of course." The clerk replied. "Reckon that's the only business city-folk like yourself got for comin' all the way out here… ain't nothin' out in this swamp worth lookin' at except the haunted house and a _real_ long drive to _Pineville_."

Well, the clerk was right about that last part, since all Ethan had seen for the past few hours since getting on Highway 49 was swamp, swamp, and more swamp. And, since the man probably thought he was being helpful by giving all these extra directions, Ethan didn't want to disappoint him with the real reason that he was in Louisiana, so he just nodded and walked out. Hopefully, his visit to the town of Dulvey would be a short one, and then he could leave this giant swamp for good… at least _Florida_ had the decency to drain most of theirs.

Back at the car, his friend, coworker, and reluctant traveling companion, Travis, was already taking off the gas cap. The pump had started by the time Ethan got there, and apparently twenty dollars didn't buy what it used to, since it felt like he had barely had enough time to set the bag of snacks in the car on the center console, when the pump stopped. Hoping that Travis had simply squeezed the trigger too hard and set off the safety, Ethan looked at the price gauge, only to find that all twenty had been used.

"Twenty bucks for eight gallons of gas." He griped as Travis went around and got in. "You know, back in high school, I could _fill_ a car this size with _ten_. Okay, I got us some ice teas, and all they had to eat was chips, but look, Travis… _Fritos_ , your favorite."

"Yeah, that's great, man." His friend replied, taking the ice tea and opening it. "Ethan, what the fuck are we doing out here? She's been gone three years, man… _three years_ , and now you _actually_ think you're gonna find her out _here_? Out here in this… this… how the hell do you describe this place… this deleted scene from _Deliverance_."

Ethan wasn't stupid; he knew that after three years, the odds of finding his missing wife were slim to none, and the evidence that he had of her being out there in Dulvey wasn't exactly concrete, but what else was he supposed to do. After Mia had disappeared, his whole life had fallen apart… after nearly losing his mind trying to find her for the first year, he started drinking, isolating himself from the world all together… hell, if not for Travis covering for him so much at work, he probably would have lost his job, too.

The slight, almost ridiculous possibility that Mia could still be alive was the first time that he had felt truly good since he could remember, and it came in the form of an email sent from her account. It wasn't much, simply addressed to him, and containing the simple message that read: _Dulvey, Louisiana… Baker Farm… Come get me_. Yes, it could have been fake, or some kind of scam, or someone hacked her old account as a sick prank, and all of these possibilities had been suggested by Travis when he showed him the email.

"We can still forget about this, Ethan." Travis continued, taking a drink. "We can just turn around, go home, and I'll even introduce you to my single cousin, Denise… you need to move on, man. You need to let her go."

"I can't, Travis, not yet." He replied, looking out the windshield. "But I'll make a deal with you… we go to this farm, and if we don't find her, I'll… I'll move on, okay? I just need to do this, because if I turn around now, I'll spend the rest of my life wondering if she was really there."

Without waiting for his friend to reply, Ethan started the engine, and then pulled the car back onto the road. He didn't mean to be so short with Travis, or with anyone that he had talked to over the past three years, but losing Mia had been literally the worst thing that had ever happened to him. The last time that he had heard from her was right before she vanished, and it was a video message that looked like she had recorded it while on the upper deck of some kind of ship.

Her reason for leaving had been to do some kind of babysitting job, which was normal, since she had been leaving town periodically to do this kind of thing since before they even met, and he had no reason to question it. It had been nice that she was able to travel while working, although no Ethan wished that he had tried to stop her from being away from home so often. Anyway, the message was what one would expect; Mia saying hello, and that she missed him, and that she couldn't wait until she could come home to her loving husband… and that was it.

"I'm gonna hold you to this deal, man." Travis said as they went around a curve. "Just promise me that when we don't find her, you're not gonna lose your mind… I do _not_ like the idea of having to carry your butt out of the damn swamp."

Ethan laughed a little, but then returned his attention to the road, where soon enough, a sign for _Garand Road_ appeared just like the clerk said it would. Now there was just a straight shot to the Dulvey village limits, but he couldn't help wondering that if Mia _was_ really there, then why was she there in the first place, since she had told him that her babysitting job was up in New York. A second thought then entered his mind, and as ridiculous as it seemed, he felt the need to try and confirm it.

"Hey, Travis." He said. "Can you pull up your GPS, and see what the next road is?"

"Yeah, sure." His friend replied, taking out his phone. "Okay, let's see… we're on Garand, and… it looks like we're gonna have to take a left on Lund right when we reach Dulvey."

This was not the news that Ethan had wanted to hear, since after they had already looked up the address to the Baker Farm, it was the same directions that the clerk had given him to the famous Dulvey Haunted House. It was discouraging, since it added weight to the possibility that this was some kind of cruel hoax, but this still wasn't enough to make him turn around. Even if it _was_ some kind of a joke, how would the person responsible know to send it to him, or importantly… that Mia even needed to be found in the first place?

It also didn't seem like a good idea to tell Travis about this new information, since it would only drive his friend to make him go home, so instead of saying anything, Ethan simply followed the road to the Dulvey village limits, and then turned left down Lund… a dirt road that seemed to become more overgrown and unused with each mile that they traveled. Eventually it looked more like a hiking trail than a road, and with larger plants starting to appear, he figured that it would probably be a good idea to stop the car before it got stuck.

"All right, it looks like we're on foot form here." He said, putting it in park, and killing the engine. "Come on, Travis."

"What the hell you mean, _come on, Travis_?" His friend demanded. "Are we looking at the same road, Ethan, it's… it's not even a _road_ anymore, man. This looks like the place where roads come to _die_ man; ain't nobody driven down here in years."

It was kind of hard to argue with him on that point, since it looked pretty well abandoned up ahead, but the phone's GPS said… well, before the phone lost every kind of signal possible, including GPS signal somehow, it said that they were less than two miles from the destination. The good thing about this road being so abandoned would mean that he wouldn't have to worry about anyone stealing the car if he went on foot. After all, there was only two miles left between him and the possibility of finding Mia.

"All right, Travis." Ethan said as he opened the door. "You can stay here if you want, but I'm going."

With that, he got out of the car and started walking, ignoring Travis's calls for him to come back, but then smirking when he heard the car door open and close, followed by his friend's rapid steps to catch up with him. He was glad that Travis made this trip with him, not just for the company… but because he honestly had no idea what was waiting up ahead.


	2. Chapter 2 Sewer Gators

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Two: Sewer Gators**

Not long after setting out on foot, any resemblance that Lund Road had to being, well, a road, had vanished completely. Sure, _maybe_ Ethan could have gotten another half a mile or so out of the car before absolutely _having_ to leave it behind, but no more than that, since nature seemed to have kind of personal stake in reclaiming it. More and larger plants were appearing the further they walked, leaving the road looking more like a grassy hiking trail than anything, but so far it looked like Travis had been right about no one using this path for a really long time.

"Come on, Ethan, we should go back." Travis said, ducking under a low hanging branch. "There ain't much daylight left, and I don't like the idea of trying to find out way back in the dark."

"The clerk at the station said go _all the way_ down Lund." He replied. "We can't be at the end yet, since there's still a path, but I _promise_ you that if there's nothing when it dead-ends, we'll go back, okay?"

There had to be something at the very end of this road, there just _had_ to. The email from Mia, the phone's GPS before it went out, _and_ the service station clerk had all told them that the Baker Farm, or the Dulvey Haunted House, or whatever the place was called was in the same spot, and _all three_ of those things couldn't be lying to him… could they? No, the very _idea_ of such a conspiracy was ignorant; how could so many people know that Mia was even missing, let alone what he would be willing to do to find her?

"I'm gonna hold you to that promise, Ethan." Travis continued as the path started to widen. "Cause' I'm not gonna be out here in the middle of the woods when it gets… what in the world?"

Just when he was in the middle of his latest attempt to stop Ethan from continuing, Travis's words turned into a question when the two of them came upon a clearing in the trees… a big clearing, with a hill… and on top of that hill was a very large house. Well, house might have been the wrong word, since this place looked more like a small mansion, but there was no way to investigate further, due to the fence. The impenetrable wall of black bars that were spiked at the top extended as far around the property as either of them could see, and although the gate was right in front of them, it was secured with a heavy, partially rusted chain.

"Well, we're not getting through _this_." Ethan said, shaking the gate to no avail. "Hello?! Hello, is anyone…

"What the hell are you doing, man?!" Travis interrupted, turning Ethan away from the gate. "Take a good look at that house, Ethan, it's been abandoned for _years_! And even if it wasn't, would you really want help from someone who lives _there_?!"

Ethan started to argue, but after taking a second look at how rundown and neglected the house looked, he realized that his friend maybe had a point. After all, the yard was overgrown, what little pain remained on the house was badly chipping, and there was nothing but weathered, partially rotting wood exposed underneath. What on Earth would Mia be doing in a place like this? He wondered, taking note of how there were only a few hours left before the sun would set… but he couldn't let something as simple as a gate keep him from finding out whether or not Mia was really in there.

"You're right, Travis." He said, stepping away from the gate. "But maybe there's another way in further down the fence."

"Ethan, no! That's not what I meant!" Travis called, chasing after him when Ethan started jogging further down the trail. "Damn it, Ethan!"

This light jog quickly turned into a nearly a sprint as Ethan found that moving faster only made him that much more eager to find Mia, but he was forced to slow down a few seconds later after nearly tripping over some undergrowth. Following the fence as best he could, and being thankful that it had been put in so close to the trail, Ethan was so focused on finding another gate or driveway, that he nearly ran right into the large white object that suddenly appeared in front of him.

Doing his best to stop, and having to put out his hands to stop himself from slamming right into it, he realized that it was a vehicle. Someone had managed to drive a full size van this far down the trail before having to go on foot, but from the way that vines and other plants were starting to grown on and around it, the van had apparently been there for a while. There were some empty coolers tossed on the ground, as well as some rather sturdy cases that might have been used for transporting expensive equipment… but they were empty as well, so there was no way of knowing what had been inside them.

The sliding door of the van had been left open, allowing dirt and dust to accumulate on the seats, while the Louisiana sun had done a pretty good job of dry-rotting the leather. The keys were still inside, hanging from the driver's sun visor, not that the van would do them any good this far down the trail, but there was something else, too… when he opened the glove compartment, there was a rolled up document tucked away inside, and Ethan was blowing the dust off of it when Travis finally caught up to him. It read:

 _SEWER GATORS_

 _EPISODE 17_

" _SNEAK PEAK AT LOUSIANA'S GHOST HOUSE"_

"Hey, check this out." He said, showing it to his friend. "What do you make of it, Travis?"

"What the hell is this?" Travis asked, looking at it. " _The Sewer Gators_?! Seriously?!"

Suddenly seeming to take more of an interest in things, his friend began to look all around the abandoned van, digging through everything; the vehicle itself, the empty coolers, and taking an extensive look at the equipment cases. Ethan didn't understand what his friend was looking for, since all the evidence suggested that no one had used this vehicle in a long time… which was strange since it didn't appear to have gotten stuck, nor was there anything wrong with it aside from exposure.

"What are the Sewer Gators?" He asked.

"Seriously, man?" Travis replied, putting the document back down. "You know, that _YouTube_ show with the really annoying theme? _Ba-da-daa-da, UFO's, ba-da-daa-da, Bigfoot, ba-da-daa-da, Ghosts and Spirits, ba-da-daa-da, Sewer Gators_. They were a really big hit a couple years ago, but then they just stopped…

Stopping in mid-sentence, Travis just started shaking his head as he backed away from the vehicle, as if something had genuinely frightened him. It looked like he was going to say something a couple times, but either changed his mind or just couldn't find the words to express whatever he was feeling. Of course, Ethan's highest priority was to find Mia, if she was even there, so he turned in the opposite direction to look further down the path, when Travis finally found his voice again.

"Ethan, _no_ , that's it… no." His friend said firmly, stopping him from going any further. "Will you just take a look around for a second? The Sewer Gators show ran for sixteen episodes, before they just fell off the face of the Earth two years ago, and now we find their abandoned van in the middle of nowhere with production notes for episode seventeen? This is some _Blair Witch_ shit straight out of the _Chainsaw Massacre_ , and we are going back to the car _right now_ , Ethan."

It seemed like the closer they got to the possibility of finding out what happened to Mia, the more Travis tried to get him to go back and forget about the whole thing, even though he knew that it was impossible. Yes, finding the abandoned vehicle was suspicious, and the large house they had seen earlier was a little unsettling, but if everyone who went looking for the famous Dulvey Haunted House vanished, then how would it have ever become _famous_ in the first place.

"No, we're not." Ethan argued. "Look, I get it… this is all pretty weird, but even if something _did_ happen to these Sewer Gator people, it would have been _two years ago_ , like you said. Maybe a floor collapsed while they were sneaking around, or something, and they couldn't use their phones to call for help. It doesn't mean that they walked into the middle of some low-budget horror film… shit like that doesn't really happen."

"It happened in _Raccoon City_." Travis replied. "I'm sure that before 1998, people would've said that chemical spills couldn't cause the dead to walk the Earth, either, huh? I'm sorry, Ethan, but as much as I liked Mia, I'm not going any farther… because if this _is_ a bad horror film, then the _black guy_ always dies first… no thank you."

With that, his friend turned around, and started walking back in the direction they came from. Ethan made a couple attempts to call out to him, and even walked back a few steps to try and catch him, before giving up. A few seconds later Travis vanished from sight, and now he was on his own… but at least the car would be ready when it was time to go, Ethan thought as he walked past the Sewer Gator's van.

The path ahead continued on for a short ways, going around a long curve, which straightened back out at the start of another clearing. This one was much smaller than where the large house was, but as the black metal fence continued on, it was briefly hidden behind another building before being seen again as it vanished into thicker trees. This seemed to be the very end of Lund Road, and the building that briefly hid the fence was in really rough shape… just what one would expect from something called the Dulvey Haunted House.

The windows had been boarded up, and the yard was overgrown, leaving no sign that Mia, Travis's Sewer Gators, or anyone else had passed through there in a really long time. Pausing a moment to look around and listen, the only sound Ethan could hear was that of the wind blowing through the branches of the local trees. The sun was getting lower in the sky now, making him have to partially shield his eyes to get a better look at the small house, and then he saw something that gave him hope… there was an intact porch light above the door… and it was on.

Briefly recalling Travis's warnings in his mind, Ethan had to convince himself that Louisiana wasn't really filled with banjo-playing murderers, and he was walking toward the house to try and find a way to see inside, when his foot hit something soft. Stopping and looking down, he discovered that it was a woman's purse… a remarkably intact brown leather one, at least compared to everything else around this place, and he picked it up since if someone _was_ home, returning their purse would be a better received ice-breaker than throwing out suspicions of missing persons.

But then he looked down inside at the contents through the open top, and aside from the usual things that would be found in any woman's purse, there was a small hard-plastic card. Figuring that it belonged to the owner of the house, Ethan took it out to examine it, only to gasp when he turned it around to look at the front. It was a _Texas Driver's License_ that didn't expire for a few more years, and the name on the license, along with the picture to confirm it… was _Mia Winters_.


	3. Chapter 3 The Guest House

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Three: The Guest House**

Over the last three years, there had been a thousand different ways in which Ethan had imagined himself reacting once he had found some proof that Mia was still alive. In one scenario he had been overjoyed, and unable to stop smiling due to the fact that the love of his life was still alive… and in another scenario he had been angry. After all, what had she been thinking, getting herself into a situation where she was in danger… or in no danger at all… in which case a third scenario brought sadness. Even though it was slim, there was a chance that she had simply ran off, and didn't want to be with him any longer.

The list of scenarios went on and on, and could be listed for hours, but the one thing that they didn't include… and what he was actually doing right then… was just standing there, like an idiot. The driver's license, _Mia's_ driver's license, was in his hand, giving him physical proof that she was there… or at least, _had_ been there at some point in recent history. But as he had said earlier to Travis, the job that she had taken would have brought her nowhere _near_ Louisiana, let alone at this supposedly haunted house… so what was she doing there?

"Travis!" Ethan called, looking back down the trail. "Travis, come look at this! I found her driver's license! Mia's here! Travis, come on, man!"

The only sound that came in response to his calls was that of his own echo, and after waiting for several seconds for any kind of reply from his friend, Ethan found himself getting suddenly nervous as he looked back at the house. His first instinct was to go sprinting back down the trail as fast as he could in order to catch up with Travis, and then the two of them check the place out together, for obvious safety reasons… but on the other hand, if Mia really was still inside, he couldn't bear the thought of leaving her in there for another minute.

He knew that the smart thing would be to go and get Travis, but what if whoever was keeping her there heard him yelling, and killed her before he got back? Yes, this was a ridiculous scenario, but on the other hand, so was finding her purse in front of an abandoned house in Louisiana, so this time logic did not win. So turning back toward the house, he ran up to the front porch, feeling the old, rotting boards move and _creak_ as if they were about to fall out from underneath him while on his way to the front door.

Upon reaching the entrance, he rammed his shoulder into it, but apparently the door and its frame were in a lot better condition than the rest of the house, since it barely moved in reaction. Twice more he rammed into it, with no more success, even when he got a running start and jumped into it with his shoulder, which only resulted in the wind being knocked out of him when he fell to the ground. Normally a fall like that would have embarrassed Ethan, but there were more important things happening right now than his pride, so he got up, and was about to try again, when he noticed the hinges.

Instead of being on the inside so that the door could swing inward like most modern designs, this one had hinges on the outside, meaning that it opened outward, like a storm-door. This fact did manage to embarrass him a little, especially when he tried the knob, and the door easily opened when he pulled it. The wind outside caused it to slam shut behind him once he entered, making Ethan jump a little, and then he looked around to see that the inside of the house was pretty much as he expected.

There were one or two lights on that he could see in the different rooms from where he was standing, and this made him grateful that the sun was still up, since without it coming in through the cracks in the boarded up windows, it would have been really hard for him to find his way around. There was furniture in the living room, but it was mostly broken down, or covered with dirt, and there were stacks of what looked like old newspapers on top of the coffee table. A few portraits still hung on parts of the walls where the old, faded wallpaper was still up, and even more had been left on the floor, where the frames had broken.

"Mia?" Ethan called out, far quieter than he meant to, from nerves. "Mia, are you here?"

There was almost no point in calling out for her, since it came out as barely a whisper, even after clearing his throat. Maybe it was the dust, or maybe it was the fact that he was starting to realize that he had broken into a house that was potentially full of people who were kidnappers or killers… and he had done so _alone_. Still, he kept going, since Mia was the most important thing in his life, but he was pretty sure that in a place like this, it would be pretty hard for anyone to sneak up on him without being heard… not that it looked like anyone had been there for a number of years.

The kitchen was in just as bad of shape; doors missing off the cabinets, the table covered with dirt, and the refrigerator filled with something so rotten that Ethan nearly vomited after opening the door. Gagging and coughing as he slammed it shut, he sort of stumbled out of the kitchen, moving down the next hall, and passing through the open door of a small bathroom. The tile floor was cracked, with pieces missing, and he saw that the door was hanging off of the medicine cabinet when he went to lean over the sink… but then Ethan got a good whiff of what had been left in and around the toilet.

There was no stopping the vomit this time, and as much as he tried to aim for the sink, some of it splashed onto the countertop and even the medicine cabinet, making him feel even more disgusted by the time he left the bathroom. Now on top of being desperate to find Mia, nervous to even be _inside_ this old house, and feeling sick to his stomach, Ethan was getting angry. Well, maybe _frustrated_ was a better word, since he had gone through several rooms in this place, without finding anything beyond the driver's license.

"Mia?!" He called much louder after clearing his throat. "Damn it, Mia, where are you?!"

No longer caring if he was discovered or not, Ethan's footsteps were a lot heavier as he moved down the next hallway, pulling open door after door, but finding each room just as empty as the last… until he opened the very last one, and found a set of stairs that went down. Of course, a creepy place like this would have a basement, he thought as he stared down into the darkness… why wouldn't it? Squinting his eyes, and holding up his hand to block the sun coming through the boarded up windows behind him, he could see that there was at least one light on down there, and of course this meant that it was possible for Mia to be there.

Why couldn't Travis have stuck it out with him for just a hundred more meters? Ethan wondered as he took the first step down into the basement. Even if his friend would have chickened out at this point, with Ethan's luck, the stairs were about to collapse, and then at least he would have someone who could go for help for him. But, no, Travis had to storm off like a jackass, leaving him alone, but to be fair, his friend had probably hoped that Ethan would follow him, just as Ethan was wishing the opposite right now.

Thankfully the stairs didn't collapse, although they felt like they were going to, with all the creaking and swaying they did on the way down. There was a single door that led out of the stairwell, and it opened up into some kind of sitting room that was in just as bad of condition as the rest of the house. There were some metal storage shelves off in a little side room, but they were empty, and aside from the dirty, ripped up sofa that sat in the middle of the room, the only other feature was another light that came from the far end of a dark hallway.

Since he had expected to find Mia somewhere with _completely_ working electricity, or even some kind of cruel scam like Travis suggested, Ethan had neglected to bring a flashlight, leaving him to very cautiously creep his way down the darkened hallway, feeling out each step with his foot before setting it down to take another one. This went well for a ways, but then about halfway through, his foot hit something. It was sort of heavy, and made a skidding sound like hard plastic when it moved across the bare concrete floor, so he reached down to pick it up, discovering when he held it up to the light, that it was a professional looking video camera.

It was also apparently an old model, since he could feel the slot where a full-size _VHS_ tape would be put in, but once Ethan found the _Eject_ button, he also found that there was no tape inside. There was some kind of label on the side that didn't seem to be an original part of the camera, and he could feel that there were letters sticking up on it, but there wasn't enough light to read them. So he walked forward, finding that there was nothing else in the hallway, and when he got closer to the light, Ethan saw that the label on the camera read:

 _PROPERTY OF MR. CLANCY JARVIS_

 _SEWER GATORS NEWEST (AND BEST) CAMERAMAN_

Reading these words caused a knot to form in Ethan's stomach, since this was the second time that he and Travis had come across evidence that the Sewer Gators had been there. But if they had already found their vehicle, and now their abandoned camera, what had happened to the Sewer Gators, themselves? Well, there was no answer to be found on the camera, aside from knowing that it had belonged to someone named Clancy Jarvis, but in all this… there had _still_ been no sign of Mia.

Having reached the end of the darkened hallway, Ethan now found himself inside of some kind of workshop, but it couldn't have been a very good one, since there were no tools around that he could see. There were racks for them above the workbench, along with a large, old looking toolbox, and he was setting down the camera to see if there was anything useful inside, when something else caught his eye. There was enough light to see that the far side of the workshop was starting to flood, probably from old, worn out pipes, but the important thing was what he could see _in_ the water.

The reflection allowed Ethan to see that there was another room hidden around the corner… a room that was the source of light for this side of the workshop… and a room that also had a door made of metal bars, as if it were some kind of holding cell. That was all he could get from the reflection, so he walked around the corner, stepping into the shallow water, and seeing that it was, in fact, some kind of holding cell. There was a large chain and padlock on the door, and inside there was a small cot with a dirty looking mattress… and someone was lying on the cot, facing the wall… it was a woman with long, dark hair like Mia's.


	4. Chapter 4 Mia Winters

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Four: Mia Winters**

A few times Ethan called out to the woman in the cell, but she remained unresponsive, even when he roughly rattled the door and chain, causing the noise to echo all throughout the basement. At first he was worried that she was dead, but when he looked closer he could see her ribs moving, meaning that she was breathing. Whether or not this woman was actually Mia didn't really matter at this point, since he wasn't about to leave _anyone_ locked inside a cage like that, and there were no conveniently placed keys for the padlock lying around, so he went back to the toolbox, knocking the video camera back onto the floor as he reached for it.

There wasn't much left inside when he opened the top, followed by each drawer down the line; a few rusting wrenches here, a broken screwdriver there, nothing that could really help him out against the padlock or its chain. There was a drill bit in the third drawer, and that would have been great if there had also been a _drill_ lying around somewhere, or a hand-bore, or something… but there wasn't. In fact, Ethan was starting to lose hope, when he opened the last, largest drawer, and could hardly believe what was inside.

"Well, what do you know?" He whispered, taking out the pair of bolt cutters.

They were rusting, like the wrenches had been, but the bolt cutters still seemed pretty sturdy when he tried them out, even though the rust made it a bit difficult for him move the handles. Regardless of the tool's status, it was all he had, so Ethan rushed back over to the cell door, and opened the cutter so that it fit over one of the chain's links. Even though it was thoroughly rusted, the chain was heavy, making it a lot more difficult to break than he had hoped, so instead of just a quick snap, he was left struggling with it for several minutes.

Not that he wasn't making any progress, since the cutter was slowly wearing through the chain, but now Ethan's arms were getting too tired to use it. So in desperation for a better way to handle this, he turned the bolt cutter sideways, and placed his foot on the handle nearest to him, while grabbing the far side with both hands. Now with everything he had left, he pulled with his hands while pushing with his foot, leaning backwards as far as he could, and crying out in fatigue, before the chain finally broke.

Unfortunately, Ethan had still been leaning backwards when this happened, causing him to fall backwards into the part of the basement that was starting to flood. The water was only a couple inches deep, but it was cold, making him shiver a little from the extreme temperature difference as he scrambled back to his feet. His now wet clothes were immediately forgotten, however, when he tore the broken chain from the latch, and pulled the door open; so nervous to see who was on the cot that his knees were shaking as he made his way into the cell.

"Hey, are you all right?" He said in a shaky voice, reaching to turn her over. "You aren't hurt or anything, are… _Mia?!_ "

Jumping backwards from the pure shock of seeing his wife's face, Ethan stumbled a bit before falling to the floor, and then rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't somehow having a hallucination. She was dirty, and her hair was unkempt, probably from the time spent in this place, but it was _definitely_ her. However, she was still unresponsive, as if in a deep sleep, so he clumsily crawled back over to the cot, and sat on it next to her so that he could get her to sit up.

"Mia, can you hear me?" He asked, pulling her up into a sitting position. "Mia, it's me, Ethan. Mia, wake up!"

Shaking her a little, and lightly smacking her cheek a few times, nothing seemed to work. Maybe she had been sedated, or abused, but without getting her to wake up, there would be no way to know what happened. So Ethan propped her up against the wall, before leaving the cell, and spotting an old metal can on the floor that didn't seem to have any holes when he picked it up. Aside from what he had already done, the only thing he could think of to do was scoop up some of that really cold water into the can, and throw it in his wife's face when he reentered the cell.

This time there was a reaction; Mia's eyes snapped open, and she coughed a couple times, seeming like she had no idea where she was as she looked around the room. She tried to get up, but failed like a lot of people did when they first got up, and Ethan intended to slowly help her up before letting her finish waking up, but couldn't help pulling her in for a hug that might have surprised him even more than it did her.

"Oh my God, Mia!" He exclaimed happily, kissing her on the forehead before squeezing her. "It's you, it's _really_ you! Oh man, Travis is gonna _shit_ himself when he sees… Mia? Mia, are you okay? Can you hear me? Mia, its Ethan? _Mia?!_ "

"E… Ethan?" She asked, barely a whisper. "Ethan, you're… you're _here_?!"

Suddenly the haze left her eyes, and then she pushed him away before backing up against the far wall of the cell. The good news was that she seemed to be wide awake now, and this time when she quickly scanned the area around her, it was not done in confusion, but more like she was concerned about something. Ethan's first instinct as her husband was to hold his wife and try to reassure her that everything was going to be all right now, but she just pushed him back again the next time he tried to touch her.

"Ethan, what the _hell_ are you doing here?!" Mia demanded, almost angrily. "You _can't_ be here! How the hell would you even _find_ this place?!"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, considering trying to touch her again, but reconsidering. "Mia, _you_ told me how to find you, remember? You sent me an email with this address, and told me to come get you… have you really been here all this time? Mia, what happened to you? What's been going on these past three years?"

She made a sort of surprised comment about _three years_ , with disbelief in her voice, but that was as close to a response as Ethan was going to get apparently, as his wife resumed looking around the room, this time venturing out of the cell. Mia put a finger to her lips in a gesture for him to be quiet while she crept over toward the darkened hallway, where she stared off into the darkness for several seconds, before coming back.

"Ethan, you have to get out of here, _right now_!" She said, constantly looking back toward the hallway. "You're okay as long as no one saw you… Ethan, _please_ tell me that no one saw you! We can't let daddy know you're here; come on, this way!"

"What? Daddy?" Ethan asked, before Mia suddenly took off running. "Oh, damn it, Mia, wait!"

Running after her, he was so focused on catching up to his wife, that Ethan tripped over the camera he had knocked over earlier, and his reward was a face full of concrete when he fell down. Of course, this momentary distraction allowed him a few seconds to think, and now the knot in his stomach was returning as he thought more about what just happened. Apparently someone had locked Mia up in a cage, probably hurting her in ways that he didn't even want to _think_ about… and based on what she said before running off, there was more than one person involved.

Clearly the people who lived around there were dangerous, just like Travis had predicted, meaning that there would be trouble if he ran into any of them. Therefore, it was probably a good idea to find something to defend himself with, and the only thing around that he could imagine using to fend off an attacker, was that pair of bolt cutters. Every second that he stayed down there was more distance for Mia to put between them, so he grabbed the heavy tool from the floor, and then went after her.

"Mia!" He called, rounding the corner. "Mia, come back!"

Leaving the workshop, and passing back through the darkened hallway, Ethan stopped for a second after thinking that he heard something. There was nothing that he could hear, and nothing that could be seen moving in front of the lights from either the workshop or the stairwell, so he concluded that it must've been his imagination. Either way, Mia was clearly not in her right mind, leaving a risk that she could get hurt if he left her on her own for too long, so he rushed through the hallway, and started back up the creaky stairs.

Forced to slow down a bit, since the old, wooden stairs felt like they were about to collapse, with the way they shook back and forth, Ethan realized that he should probably stop moving so fast or making so much noise. After all, he had already spent the last couple hours screaming all around the property like a jackass, and if by some _miracle_ none of the people that kidnapped Mia had heard him, he wasn't about to do anything else that might draw attention.

The sun was still shining in through the cracks in the boarded up windows, although the light was significantly dimmer than when he had entered the basement, meaning that the sun was setting. This still left him some time to search around and find Mia, but he would have to hurry if he didn't want to realize Travis's earlier spoken fear about having to stumble around in the dark. So Ethan was just a couple steps down from the door, when he froze as the sound of something shattering reached his ears from behind.

Quickly spinning around, he saw that the light from the bottom of the stairwell was now out, leaving only darkness. Due to how tense this whole situation was, it took him a second to realize that the thing he heard shattering must have been the light bulb, and even longer to realize that those things didn't just fall out of their sockets… but by the time that he realized all of this, he felt the stairs shake a little as if someone else had stepped onto the bottom of them.

Keeping a tight grip on the bolt cutters, Ethan squinted to see what was there as the stairs moved again… and again… but without the light bulb, the sun coming in through the windows on the first floor wasn't enough to see more than a couple stairs down. For a moment nothing moved, but then his mouth ran dry when the stairs shook again, and now he could hear the very slowly approaching footsteps as well.

" _I… see… you_." A harsh female voice whispered.

One more step, and Ethan gasped as the barely visible figure of a person appeared in the darkness. But instead of continuing to advance, they just stayed there, making it impossible to identify them as they began to slowly breathe in and out. The figure's breathing was soft at first, but labored, and each new breath was louder, soon sounding more like an animal than a person… but then they backed away, taking a single step, and vanishing back down into the darkness.

Something moved behind him, causing Ethan to turn his head, but it was only a trick of the light as the sun continued to set, so he turned back toward the stairs, only to gasp in shock as the figure rushed out of the darkness, snarling as she grabbed him by the shirt. It was hard to see in the decreased light, but her face was twisted into an evil grimace, and she growled before shoving him backwards… so hard that his feet left the ground as he cleared the rest of the stairwell, slamming into the wall by the windows, and crashing to the floor.


	5. Chapter 5 Shouldn't Have Come

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Five: Shouldn't Have Come**

The wind had been thoroughly knocked out of him by the time that Ethan hit the floor, so he had to cough and gasp to catch his breath, while also scrambling to get to his feet. He couldn't believe the _strength_ of the woman that had tossed him; sending him flying backwards as if he weighed nothing… but he also wondered how she had gotten around behind him in the first place, since there was only one way in and out of the basement… unless it was her that he thought he heard back in the darkened hallway.

Either way, she was there now, and it was more than likely that she was one of the people that Mia had tried to warn him about, so he needed to defend himself. The bolt cutters had flown out of his hand during the sudden flight, and once Ethan had pulled himself up to his knees, he looked around until he saw where they had landed, a good distance down the hallway. Now using his hands to boost himself up to his feet, he was just standing all the way up, when he couldn't help crying out in surprise when the figure reappeared right in his face.

Ramming into him, and effortlessly forcing him up against the wall, she pinned him there with her body, still growling and shrieking as she raised her other arm up high. She then brought it back down much faster, and Ethan noticed that there was some kind of sharpened piece of wood in her hand, just in time to scream in agony when she stabbed it down into his shoulder. This seemed to excite her; the laughs matching his screams as she twisted it around, but then she shoved him sideways, causing him to slide to a stop further down the hallway after falling to the floor on his stomach.

Quickly rolling onto his back, this was the first time that he had gotten a good look at his attacker as she slowly walked toward him, and what he saw was disturbing. She was about the same size as Mia, with similar hair and clothes, but her face was swollen and discolored with a yellowish tint, and there was a scowl on her face, the likes of which he hoped that most women weren't even capable of. The only good thing about his situation was that he was now much closer to the bolt cutters, and he was about to reach for them, when his attacker suddenly dove forward.

Now drooling onto his face as she stabbed at his shoulder again with the wood, Ethan tried to push her arms back, but was unable to stop her from stabbing even more deeply into the same wound. She laughed and snarled, pressing down the sharpened wood harder in reaction to his scream, but the pain did give him the motivation that he needed in order to bring his feet up underneath her. Shoving her backwards with all his strength, she lost her grip on the wood, leaving it embedded in Ethan's shoulder as she was sent stumbling backwards.

This respite only lasted a few seconds before she regained her balance in order to attack, but by the time she did, he had gotten his hands on the bolt cutters. Swinging the tool at the same time that she dove for him, there was a loud metallic _clang_ as the bolt cutters slammed into the side of her head, knocking his attacker over sideways. She collapsed to the floor as Ethan scooted away, but where he had hoped that the blow would knock her unconscious, it seemed to have only dazed her.

"Oh, no." He groaned, getting the tool ready for another hit as he moved up against the wall. "Come on, give me a break."

The piece of wood embedded into his shoulder made it really hard to move his arm, but he was getting ready to use the other one to give her another good hit, but he stopped once she had gotten up to her hands and knees. Looking up at him, now with genuine concern on her face, Ethan was confused to see that now not only was his attacker's face no longer swollen or discolored… but now she looked exactly like Mia.

"Ethan! Oh, my God, Ethan!" She exclaimed, crawling over to him. "I didn't mean to… I would never… it's _her_ , Ethan. I can feel her… I can feel her crawling her way back inside me… _leave me alone_!"

Now holding her head and screaming as she jumped to her feet, Mia ran over to the wall and started slamming her own head into one of the exposed wooden studs. Ethan didn't know what to do, and was in such shock from what he had just seen, that all he was able to do was watch while his wife struck herself in the head a few more times. She was delirious at this point, yelling some nonsense about _her having been bad_ , and that _she deserved this_ , before running back down the hall, and suddenly throwing herself down the stairs.

"Mia!" Ethan called as he heard her tumble to the bottom. "Mia, no!"

He tried to get the wood piece out of his shoulder, but it was too painful for him to do on his own, so he instead tried to pull himself to his feet. Letting go of the bolt cutters so that he could grab the ledge of the nearest window, he couldn't help crying out in pain as he pulled his way up to his feet, but at the last second his knees gave out from fatigue. This would have certainly made him fall down again, but at the last second there was movement from off to the side, and someone actually caught him.

At first he thought it might have been Travis, having come back to help him, but he didn't have enough strength left to even jump back when he realized that it was a woman. His mind screamed that it was somehow Mia come back to attack him again, but although they had the same body type, this was definitely _not_ her. His _rescuer_ wore different clothes, her face was completely different, and her hair was way shorter than Mia's; trimmed up into a type of unkempt _pixie cut_.

"Hold still." She ordered in a southern accent, putting one hand over his mouth. "This is gonna hurt a bit."

With her free hand, she grabbed onto the wood piece, and Ethan's cries of agony were muffled when she yanked it out. Some blood began to pour out of the now opened wound, so after dropping the wood piece on the floor, the short-haired woman took a cloth from her pocket; balling it up and pressing it onto the wound, before taking Ethan's hand and making him hold down the cloth, himself.

"You _really_ need to get outa here." She continued, taking a look down the hallway. "I mean it, _go_. Get the hell outa this house, and go back to wherever it is you came from, before he finds you. _Get_!"

The short-haired woman pushed him toward the next hallway, which if he remembered correctly, would take him back to the front door, while she headed toward the basement stairs, maybe to check on Mia. As much as Ethan hated to leave his wife in a place like this after just finding her again, regardless of what was wrong with her… he had come to realize that he was not equipped to handle… whatever the hell was going on around here, _especially_ while on his own.

So he took her advice, trying to keep the cloth pressed down on his shoulder as he made his way back down the hall. There were so many small rooms in this place that he ended up taking a wrong turn which led to a dead end. It only took a minute or so to find the correct way, however, and even though the sun had almost set completely by this point, he could see the front door after rounding the next corner. Now all he had to do was leave, make his way back down the trail, and hopefully Travis hadn't taken off with…

"Ethan!" Mia exclaimed, blocking his path as she came out from a side room. "Ethan, it's okay… everything's okay now… I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

Surprised wasn't quite a strong enough word to describe how he felt seeing her again, but from what Ethan could tell, she seemed to be normal again. There was love and compassion in her eyes, and the front door was right there, so maybe if he could get her to the car, he and Travis could take her to the hospital, and then…

"But you shouldn't have done that!" She yelled, grabbing him and interrupting his thoughts as her face became swollen and discolored once again. "It fucking _hurt_ , you piece of shit!"

Swinging him around before he could react, Mia tossed Ethan down to the floor, where he landed against the wall on his back. She then grabbed his arm and held it against the exposed wood, while taking something out of her pocket. It was a broken screwdriver, probably the same one that he had seen earlier in the toolbox, but by the time he realized what she was going to do with it, it was too late to do anything as she rammed it into his hand, burying the tool into the wood underneath it up to the handle.

"How does that _feel_?!" Mia snarled as he screamed. "Does it _hurt_?! Let's see what _else_ you can feel!"

Continuing to growl and snarl as she vanished back into the small room she had come out of, Ethan was trying unsuccessfully to pull the screwdriver out of his hand, when his wife walked back out into the hallway… and there was a _chainsaw_ in her hands. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, part of his mind wanting to believe that this was all some kind of horrible dream, and the other part urging him to try pulling out the screwdriver again, each happening while Mia started up the chainsaw.

"Mia, no!" He yelled, failing again to remove the tool. "Come on, Mia, don't do this!"

In response, his wife laughed hysterically as she fired up the saw, swinging it wildly, and putting a huge gash in his right wrist when he brought it up to protect himself. The blade made it about a quarter of the way through, pulverizing his flesh, and shaking Ethan's whole body before Mia pulled it back… and she was firing it up to make another cut, when suddenly there was movement behind her. This time, however, it wasn't another stranger that was rushing into the room… it was _Travis_.

There was too much noise from the saw for Ethan to understand what his friend yelled upon seeing what was happening, but the important thing was that he was carrying the tire-iron from the car in his hand. Bringing up the tool, and bringing it down on the back of Mia's head, Ethan's wife stumbled forward, appearing to forget all about him as she turned to face the intruder. So Travis made another swing, but this time Mia ducked down to avoid it, firing up the chainsaw when she came back up, and plunging the spinning blade all the way through Travis's chest.

His friend's body convulsed, and blood sprayed everywhere as Ethan made another attempt to remove the screwdriver from his hand, this time managing to rip it out, and then stabbing it into the back of Mia's leg as he fell forward. His wife groaned from the hit, and she tried to remove the chainsaw from Travis's body, but found herself unable to. So she let go of it, allowing the saw to stall out as it and Travis hit the floor, but by this time Ethan had managed to pick up the tire-iron.

No longer caring about what happened to her, he slammed it into Mia's face, knocking her onto her back, and then hit her again when she tried to get up. Stopping only long enough to see how much blood was pooling up around his now dead friend's body, Ethan was raising the tool to hit her again, when he was stopped as someone grabbed his wrist form behind. Turning around to see who it was, Ethan was greeted by a fist that struck him in the forehead with enough force to put him on his back, leaving him unable to move as a strange man stood over him.

"Welcome to the family, son." The man said before bringing up his leg, and stomping Ethan's face hard enough to make everything go black.


	6. Chapter 6 Zoe's Medicine

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Six: Zoe's Medicine**

For a little while there was only darkness, but as Ethan's senses began to come back, he became aware that he was moving. No, not moving… more like _being_ moved by something else… or more accurately _dragged_. Struggling to open his eyes, he saw that the sun had finally set, being that the sky was black with a full moon, but then he must have passed out again, because the next time he was able to open his eyes, he was being dragged by the ankle, through a familiar looking gate that was now open.

The next thing he saw was the back of the strange man who had attacked him during the fight with Mia. But where _was_ Mia? Blinking to bring his eyes back into focus, he saw that Mia was there as well; slung over the strange man's shoulder, but now unconscious. At first, Ethan was worried that he had seriously injured her during that… _madness_ that had occurred in the other house… but then he had a vivid flashback of his wife running Travis through with a chainsaw, so he really wasn't sure _what_ he was supposed to be feeling at that moment.

The only thing that Ethan knew for certain was that he needed to get out of there, so he came up with a plan to kick the strange man with his other foot, and then run for it when he fell forward… but only succeeded in tensing up part of his body before blacking out again. This time when he woke up, it was no longer dark, but it was a lot harder to even move his head now, so it took a while for him to realize that he was now indoors. The floor was hardwood, and there was a washer and dryer set against the wall, but given their partially rusted condition, it was unknown how long it had been since they were used.

"You fix this one up real good now, hear?" The strange man said as he dropped Ethan down into a chair. "Eveline wants him at supper."

"Don't worry, daddy." A familiar voice answered as the strange man walked away. "I'll make him _all_ better."

Ethan heard the strange man's footsteps until they were interrupted by the opening and closing of a door, and then the footsteps continued, growing softer and softer until vanishing completely. Now that he was gone, this might have been the only opportunity to escape, so Ethan tried to jump to his feet, but apparently someone forgot to tell his body about the plan, since it barely responded.

"Hey, hey, you're still bleedin'." The familiar voice said again as a pair of hands stopped him from moving. "Shhh… shhh… I know you're scared, but you gotta be still, okay? I'm not gonna hurt you."

There really wasn't much of a choice in the matter, since his remaining strength had been used up in the attempt, so Ethan raised his head, and saw that it was the short-haired woman he had seen earlier, who was talking to him. Not only that, but she was also putting bandages on his shoulder and hand, allowing Ethan to relax… that is, until she picked up a _staple-gun_ from a nearby shelf, and brought it toward his nearly severed arm.

"No, you gotta be still." She said, restraining him when he started trying to move again. "Damn it, you're just gonna hurt yourself more with all that blood you lost."

Again the fatigue set in, making it impossible for him to stop her from pinching the wound on his arm together, and putting the first two staples into his flesh with a cross pattern. Ethan had hoped that the lingering pain from the chainsaw would keep him from feeling it, but this was not the case, forcing him to twitch and groan until each of the _twelve_ staples were put in. This seemed to stop the bleeding, but what good was that if he was still stuck there with the people who had done… _whatever_ it was they had been done to Mia?

"Okay… the hard part's over, okay?" She asked, lifting his head to look up at her. "You still with me in there? Can you tell me your name?"

"Ethan." He forced himself to say. "Ethan… Winters."

She nodded before letting go of his head, and then she walked over to another shelf, where a glass jar filled with green liquid was sitting. Opening the jar while she walked back to him, the short-haired woman grabbed his arm, before sprinkling some of the green liquid onto his stapled wound. It started sizzling almost immediately, burning with more intensity than any kind of rubbing alcohol that he had used before, and Ethan couldn't help a couple of tears coming to his eyes while he groaned in agony.

The burning started to fade a few seconds later, and he was just starting to relax, when she poured some more onto his shoulder, where Mia had stabbed him with the sharpened wood. Crying out even louder, he managed to get his body to cooperate enough so that he could flail around, but the short-haired woman still easily restrained him until the burning started to fade. Thinking that this was the end of it, Ethan relaxed once again, only to tense up more than before when she brought the jar up to his lips.

"Stop that, now." She said, pinning him down when he fought. "I know it's pretty awful, but it'll make you better… Eveline didn't show us how to fix the _taste_ , though."

Ethan kept his mouth tightly closed so that she couldn't pour it in, so in response the short-haired woman pinched his nose until the need for air forced him to open up. The green liquid tasted absolutely foul when it hit his tongue, and didn't smell any better… although it didn't burn like it had on his wounds... well, not until it hit his stomach, anyway. Once it did, it felt like the whole of his insides were on fire, the green liquid shooting through his whole body in a matter of seconds, and the short-haired woman having to cover his mouth with her hand so that he wouldn't scream while kicking around.

The strange thing, though, was that even with how badly the green liquid burned him, Ethan started to realize that his headache was going away. Not only that, but his shoulder, hand, and even his arm were no longer hurting as badly as they had been before… and it was slowly becoming easier to move his head around. The burning eventually went away, allowing him to completely relax for the first time in what felt like hours.

"Who… who are you?" He asked as she picked something else up off the shelf. "Where… where am I?"

"I'm Zoe." The short-haired woman replied, starting to mess around with another tool. "Zoe Baker, and this is my family's farm… I wish I could say I'm pleased to meet you, Ethan, but… I'm really sorry you're here. Not like nothin' can be done bout' _that_ now, though."

The burning from the strange medicine was just about gone now, allowing Ethan to close his eyes for the first time without worrying about blacking out, but it also left him not caring about what Zoe was doing with… whatever she had in her hands at the moment. He didn't want to open his eyes again, but when he looked, he gasped when he saw that she was in the middle of binding his wrists and ankles to the chair with what looked like _duct tape_.

His ankles were already inescapably bound, and she was just finishing his left wrist, so naturally he moved his right wrist away from the chair, since a little of his strength had returned. She grabbed his arm in response, urging him to _not fight her_ , although no sane person would have listened to such advice. It was also not as easy for her to restrain him now, and more of his strength was returning, probably thanks to the green liquid, but he was so intent on fighting Zoe off, that Ethan almost didn't hear the door open and close behind him.

Next thing he knew, a hand a lot more powerful than Zoe's was on his wrist, slamming it down onto the chair arm hard enough to make Ethan cry out, and pinning it there while Zoe finished binding it with the duct tape. Turning his head to look at who had grabbed him, Ethan gasped when he saw that it was the strange man from before, and he winced when the man raised his arm, but then relaxed with confusion when he simply patted Ethan on the shoulder instead.

"That wasn't so bad, now _was_ it, boy?" He asked as he moved away. "Now you _may_ be a guest here, but that don't mean you can go startin' trouble with my Zoe, you hear? Now, Zoe, you get finished up with him right quick; your mama's got supper ready, and you know how she gets when you _youngins_ are late for supper."

"We won't be late, daddy." Zoe reassured him as he left the room. "Ethan, I'm _so_ sorry bout' this… I really wish you and your friend hadn't come… I don't want you to end up like the others… I don't want _nobody_ to end up like the others."

"Others?" Ethan asked, making sure to keep his voice down. "Zoe, what are you talking about? What's going on here? What's… what's gonna happen to me?"

A thousand horrible possibilities now started flowing through Ethan's mind; memories about Travis warning him about _The Blair Witch Project_ , and _The Texas Chainsaw Massacre_ , as well as scenes from a whole bunch of other movies that he had seen over the years. But those things didn't happen in real life… they _couldn't_ happen… could they? Part of his mind wanted to believe that this was all some kind of a sick joke; a kind of three year long prank that Mia was pulling on him, where everyone was going to have a good laugh at his expense, and then it would all go back to normal.

However, all of the pain he had been experiencing definitely did _not_ feel like a prank, and it sure looked real when Mia had… when she had _literally_ killed Travis with a chainsaw. The memory was almost too painful to relive, especially when his friend had come back to save him, and probably _did_ save Ethan's life… at the cost of his own. But there was so much that he didn't understand, and…

"Ethan, I promise I'll help you when I can, okay?" Zoe said, putting a hand on his cheek. "But if they catch me, you're finished, so just… just play along, and _whatever_ you do… don't eat _nothin'_ they give you."

This vague warning just left him with more questions, but there was no more time to explore them, since Zoe walked around the chair and released something down toward the bottom. This was the first time Ethan noticed that his seat was actually a _wheelchair_ , and now Zoe was moving him backwards, toward the door, and taking him to _who knows where?_


	7. Chapter 7 The Baker Family

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Seven: The Baker Family**

The next part of the house that Ethan saw was more dimly lit than the laundry room had been, but the few scattered lights that worked were enough to show that this place was in a state of neglect and disrepair. It wasn't nearly as bad as the other house had been, at least as far as the walls crumbling and such, but it was easily just as dirty. There was so much clutter around; broken crates and a ridiculous amount of newspapers scattered about as Zoe pushed his wheelchair down the hallway, but this was nothing compared to what he saw after they rounded the next corner.

"Well, here he is at last." An almost cackling woman's voice announced as they entered the dining room. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead… you don't wanna miss supper, now, do ya?"

This place, as well as the attached kitchen beyond the large table that Zoe pushed him up to, were just… just disgusting. There was trash and remnants of molding food on the floor, and inside the kitchen, the refrigerator and stove were covered with what Ethan _hoped_ was dirt. As for the table itself, it was rounded, and covered with a smorgasbord of different meats that were unrecognizable. The stench was horrific, and the meats were starting to green, as if having been cut from… _whatever_ it came from, before being left to rot… but the others at the table, aside from Zoe, were having no trouble eating their fill.

The strange man that he had seen before, was sitting at the head of the table, and on his left was the woman with the cackling voice, who appeared to be about the same age as him, probably his wife. Like Zoe, she was dirty, although her unkempt hair was much longer, and to the right of the strange man, was another, younger man with a bald head, who appeared to be around the same age as Zoe. The final member of the group was an elderly woman, who was also in a wheelchair, although unlike Ethan, she wasn't bound, and appeared to be sleeping.

"Mia?" He asked, noticing that she wasn't there. "Where's Mia?"

"Oh, quit your worrin' now." The cackling woman answered, taking another bite of her… _food_. "The supper table ain't no place for frettin', so you just eat up now. It's _real_ good."

"I don't think he cares for your food, mama." The younger man added, almost laughing. "Way he keeps lookin' over at Zoe, you'd think he were in _love_. Is that is, _city-boy_? Was you in there gettin' all _sweet_ on my sister, huh? Was ya? Then you must be _hungry_ … here, have some!"

With that, the younger man picked up a while plate of meat, and tossed it right into Ethan's face, making him look away and wretch a little as it fell onto the floor. The younger man laughed hysterically at this, even as the cackling woman voiced her disapproval at his actions, and he was reaching for another plate, when the strange man grabbed him by his forearm. The laughing stopped as the strange man forced the younger man's wrist down onto the table, picking up a steak knife and stabbing it right through the younger man's hand, and making him scream in more surprise than pain when he pulled it back.

"What I tell you bout' talkin' that way bout' your sister, boy?" The strange man scolded as the younger one tried to remove the knife. "Now, we got us a _guest_ tonight, so you behave yourself, hear? Gonna make him think we're a bunch'a _heathens_ , the way you're carryin' on. Anyhow… welcome to our home, Ethan… I'm Jack Baker, the head of this _wonderful_ family, and to my left is my _lovely_ wife, Marguerite. This _dipshit_ on the other side is my son, Lucas, and, well… you've already met my _beautiful_ daughter, Zoe. Oh, and over there by you is… well, bless her heart, she fell asleep again."

All of the Bakers suddenly let out a simultaneous _awwwww_ , as if the sleeping elderly woman, who Ethan had to assume was _Granny Baker_ , was the most adorable thing in the world. They all resumed eating a moment later as if nothing had happened, but none of them seemed to notice that Zoe was looking away sadly, instead of eating, herself. As disgusting as watching them eat was, it gave Ethan some time to think of how the hell he was going to get out of this mess, but unfortunately, nothing came to mind.

"Honey, he ain't eatin'." Marguerite exclaimed, pointing to him. "I made all this _special_ for him, why ain't he eatin'?"

"Oh, calm down, woman." Jack answered, slowly standing up. "Zoe left him all tied up; can't ya see the poor boy _can't_ eat? And he _needs_ it, too, just look at'em… so damn _skinny_ , if he turned sideways and stuck out his tongue, he'd look like a zipper."

Tensing up his arms in a failed attempt to break out of the duct take that held his wrists down, there seemed to be nothing that Ethan could do as Jack made his way around the table toward him. Once there, the strange man picked up a small piece of _whatever_ was sitting in front of him, and of course, Ethan kept his mouth closed, turning his head away when the meat was brought up to his lips.

"Are you _fuckin'_ kiddin' me?!" Marguerite suddenly screamed, jumping to her feet and pounding the table with her fist. "I spent _hours_ puttin' this meal together for you, you _son of a bitch_! You too good for my food, you little… you little son of a bitch?! Then _fuck you_! Fuck you, _and_ this supper!"

Now kicking her chair over, and continuing to scream her rage and disappointment as she stormed off toward the nearest door, Marguerite Baker shoved it open, before vanishing out into another hallway, with everyone else listening as her screams grew fainter. However, once they could no longer be heard, everyone else turned their attention back to a now very nervous Ethan… and Jack did _not_ look happy.

"Will you _look_ at what you done, boy?" The strange man said with more anger in his voice. "You done went and hurt her feelins', and, well… my wife's at that age where, you know, women tend to get a lot more sensitive bout' some little _prick_ what won't eat their supper!"

With that, Jack picked up another steak knife, and Ethan tasted some blood as the tip of the blade was quickly slashed across his cheek, making him cry out in fear. The strange man then picked up another piece of meat, this time forcing it against Ethan's closed lips, and even starting to slide the knife into his mouth in an attempt to force his teeth open… until they were interrupted by a loud buzzing sound. This startled Jack so much that he quickly pulled the knife out, cutting Ethan's lip while Lucas also stood up.

"Goddamn it!" Lucas exclaimed, starting toward the door. "I bet it's that fuckin' cop again! I had enough of this damn pig; I'll take care of'em, daddy."

"Lucas, you couldn't _take care_ of a damn _gerbil_." Jack said, looking after him. "Lucas, come back here! Damn that boy… you just sit tight, Ethan… we'll finish supper later."

Seeming to forget that they had a captive at all, Jack followed Lucas out of the room, leaving Ethan alone with Zoe and Granny. The short-haired woman waited a few seconds to make sure the others were gone, and then got out of her seat, stealthily taking something out of her pants pocket as she walked toward him. At first Ethan couldn't tell what it was, but then she opened the blade, revealing that it was a _jack knife_ , which she used to just as stealthily slice through the tape on his wrist, and slip the weapon into his pocket as she walked past him.

"I'll just, uh… take _her_ up to her room." Zoe said, getting behind Granny Baker's wheelchair. "Now you just… don't try nothin' while I'm gone."

Confused by her choice of words, but completely understanding Zoe's desire to help him escape, Ethan waited until she and Granny were gone, before pulling his wrist free of what was left of the tape, and using the knife in his pocket to free the rest of his limbs. Okay, so now he was free… but what now? Logic suggested that there _had_ to be a way out of this house, but from what he had seen from the outside earlier in the day, the place was _massive_. That, and the Bakers probably weren't going to stay away for long.

The nice thing about a place this size was that there were probably plenty of places that someone could hide… or maybe they could just jump out the nearest window and run for it. This seemed like a much better plan than hiding, and once outside, Ethan could either run for it, or maybe try to find this _cop_ that Lucas had mentioned. Wouldn't that be a lucky break? So he ran across the room toward the nearest window, pulled the curtains back, and gasped when he saw that metal bars had been placed over all of the windows, as if this were a bad neighborhood in the city.

"Oh, no." He whispered, moving to the next window and checking it, finding the same thing. "No, no, no, no, no."

Each window that he came to was the same; sturdy metal bars mounted on the outside to keep people from breaking in, or in Ethan's case, from breaking _out_. A disturbing thought entered his mind, remembering when Zoe had briefly mentioned not wanting him to end up like the _others_ , meaning that there had maybe been more people that had ended up a captive of the Baker family? Panic was starting to set in as he realized that he was going to have to venture out into other areas of the house, where he might be discovered, but then a figure appeared in the window, making Ethan gasp as he jumped back, tripping over a small pile of books, and falling on his rear.

"Oh, so there _is_ someone home." A man with a deep voice said while shining a flashlight into Ethan's eyes. "What, don't you people know how to answer a doorbell? Hello? Sir, I'm talking to _you_ , now."

Holding up his hand to partially shield his eyes, Ethan was able to see that the man standing outside was wearing clothes that looked almost like a uniform, but then some of the light reflected off of something shiny on the front of his shirt, and he couldn't help jumping to his feet in excitement when he realized that it was a badge. This had to be the cop that Lucas had mentioned, and now Ethan was saved, for sure.

"Hey!" Ethan said, rushing up to the window. "Hey, man, er, _Officer_ … you gotta help me! There's crazy people in this house, and they're trying to fucking _kill_ me!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, son." The cop replied, stepping back from the window and shining his flashlight around the rest of the room. "I need you to calm down… now, I'm Deputy Anderson, from the Vermilion County Sheriff's Office… do you live here, sir? I mean, is this your property?"

Of course, Ethan quickly told him that this wasn't his home, and that he wasn't even from this _state_ , but all of the panic and fear from the nights events might have left him a little excited, since the Deputy seemed to be more off-put by each thing he said. Couldn't blame him though, since form his point of view, Ethan probably seemed like _he_ was the crazy one, but eventually the Deputy just held up his hand to get him to stop talking.

"Okay, okay, just listen a second, son." Anderson said. "I can see something's troubling you, so just meet me around in the garage, and we'll talk there."

"Okay, the garage." Ethan replied as the Deputy walked away. "Wait, the _garage_? Where the _fuck_ is the garage? Damn it!"


	8. Chapter 8 Deputy Anderson

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Eight: Deputy Anderson**

Well, this was just _great_ , Ethan thought as he looked out the barred window again. Here he was, slapped with an opportunity to get himself out of this nightmare, and he had no idea where the garage even was. Not only that, but every second that passed by brought with it a greater chance that the Baker family would return, and who even _knew_ what else they had in store for him?

"Okay, Ethan." He said to himself, still looking around the room. "Gotta slow down… gotta think."

Several deep breaths later, he realized that the Deputy had walked off to his right, and that meant that the garage had to be somewhere to the right… right? So Ethan turned to the right, but then hesitated when he saw that this would take him through the same door that Jack and Lucas had used to leave the dining room. There was no other way that he could see leading him to the garage, so he quietly moved up to the door, and put his ear against it, straining to hear if anyone was out in the hallway.

The only thing that he could hear was silence, so he slowly turned the doorknob, having to almost immediately stop pulling the door open, when its hinges made a loud _squeak_. Holding his breath and waiting for something to happen, Ethan relaxed when he realized that no one was sounding the alarm, nor to anyone in the family seem to notice the door's continued squeaking as he pulled it the rest of the way open. Taking a quick look out into the hallway, the path seemed to be clear, allowing him to move on.

There was another open door on the other side of the hallway a bit further down, and as much as Ethan wanted to keep his thoughts focused on escape, he couldn't help thinking about what it had been like for Mia, spending _three years_ trapped with these people. Hopefully, his wife hadn't spent the _whole time_ locked in that cage in the other house, and where did Zoe fit in with all this? The short-haired woman didn't seem like she belonged in this place at all, but then there was no more time for these thoughts, as Ethan ducked through the open doorway, and had to instinctively grab onto a hand-rail in order to stop himself from falling down a flight of stairs.

Thankfully, he managed not to cry out from the surprise, or make any other loud noises aside from a startled gasp… but at least the stairs were shorter than the last ones he had seen; only descending one floor into what looked like a basement. There was a light coming from around the corner at the bottom, and this seemed like as good of a place to start searching as any, so Ethan tried to make as little noise as possible as he made his way down the stairs. The stairs made a couple creaking sounds, but nothing else to alert the family to his presence, and then he had to stop after reaching the bottom, since he nearly ran right into a wall after rounding the corner.

No, it wasn't a wall... it was some kind of roll-up shutter, like the kind that would usually be found at… at a _garage_! Ethan's heart skipped a beat as he realized that luck was truly with him if this was the interior entrance to the garage, and after looking around for a second, he found a large red button situated on the wall. Now, there was a good chance that this button could have opened the shutter… but it could have also been an alarm that the Bakers put in in case one of Zoe's mysterious _others_ had gotten this far. After a couple moments of hesitation he decided that it was worth the risk, so Ethan pushed the button, and waited.

The good news was that the shutter was starting to open, but at the same time, it was making the loudest, most obvious metallic _shriek_ that would be possible for such a device. This left his heart pounding, along with a dry feeling in his mouth that worsened each time he peeked back around the corner to see if any of the Bakers had discovered him. The shutter was moving so slowly, and he just knew that the noise would bring his captors, so Ethan decided not to wait for it; dropping down onto his stomach and crawling underneath the moment that there was enough room.

Jumping to his feet the instant that he was through, the first thing that Ethan saw was the flashing red and blue lights of a police car… that was sitting just outside a very large, and very _open_ garage door. This was it, he thought to himself as he started to run toward it. Now he was going to escape from this nightmare, and after explaining everything to the police when they took him far, far away from this place, they would arrest the Bakers, and save Mia. However, he was forced to put these plans on hold for a second when he noticed the Deputy standing at the center of the garage.

"Hey! Hey! That's far enough, son!" Anderson ordered, drawing his pistol and aiming at him. "Ain't too smart, runnin' up on a Sheriff's Deputy like that, so just… go ahead and get on your knees, hands behind your head till we get this all sorted out."

"Don't shoot me, all right!" Ethan exclaimed, stepping back and putting his hands up. "Look, I know you think I'm crazy, but unless you want both of our names in the Obituaries tomorrow, we need to get the hell out of here _right now_!"

The Deputy wasn't listening, instead simply repeating his previous commands while stepping forward, and adjusting his aim so that Ethan was looking right into the barrel of his pistol, probably to show that he was serious. Unfortunately, Ethan was serious too, but then both of their words were interrupted by another, much louder metallic squeak as the garage's outer shutter started to close.

"What the hell are you thinkin', son?!" The Deputy demanded, coming forward and grabbing Ethan by the shirt. "You think this is some kinda game?! Now you open that shutter, and you open it right the hell now, before I arrest you for…

Ethan tried to tell Anderson that he wasn't doing it, and that they were in danger, but the Deputy just wasn't listening, going so far as to reach for his handcuffs, before Ethan found himself being literally tossed off to the side as Jack Baker stormed in. Ethan was knocked to the floor, rolling to a stop a short distance away, and Anderson started to warn the strange man to stop, but apparently Jack had other plans… mostly involving the shovel he was carrying.

Before Anderson could do anything, Jack swung the shovel, hitting the Deputy in the forearms, and making him cry out in pain while his pistol slid across the floor. The strange man then swung the shovel back in the opposite direction, bringing it across Anderson's face with an echoing _thwack_ , making the Deputy collapse. Jack was clearly enraged, screaming all kinds of derogatory things about cops as he began to beat Anderson mercilessly with the shovel, and Ethan used this distraction to scramble across the floor toward the fallen pistol.

"Stupid fuckin' cops!" Jack continued as he brought the tool down again. "Always snoopin' where they ain't wanted! Always tryin' to ruin supper! Always tryin'…

"Jack, stop!" Ethan interrupted, now on his feet and aiming the weapon. "Put the shovel down… get away from the cop… and open this door… _now_!"

The strange man seemed to relax, a smile slowly forming on his face as he lowered the shovel, and Ethan started to relax as well… until Jack jammed the edge of the tool down into Anderson's face so hard that it nearly took the Deputy's whole head off. There was now no choice but to defend himself, so Ethan squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened. There was no _click_ or anything like he had seen in the movies, it just… didn't work.

"Son, you ever even _held_ a gun before?" The strange man asked, leaning on the shovel as the now dead Deputy's blood pooled around it. "Okay… see that doohickey on top… you gotta pull that back; brings a bullet up into the chamber. Now you're gonna see a little switch on the side, that's the safety; shows _red_ when you can shoot… take your time, son."

Ethan wasn't sure why Jack would be telling him these things, but either way, he fumbled with the weapon, trying to get his shaking hands to chamber a round. Once that was done, it took a few seconds, but he managed to find the safety switch, feeling something behind the trigger releasing once it was moved to the red position. Now, he didn't want to kill Jack, or _anyone_ _else_ for that matter, but there was no way that he was going to be this family's captive again. So he slowly aimed downward, and pulled the trigger, causing a loud _bang_ to echo throughout the room.

There had also been a flash of light as the bullet tore into Jack's leg, making the strange man groan as he fell to one knee. As far as Ethan could tell, the danger was over, and there was only one other way into the garage, so no one else could sneak up on him, meaning that he had all the power. However, he was just about to repeat his commands, when he found himself unable to say anything as Jack stood back up. He wasn't limping, hobbling, or even _bleeding_ now, nor did he appear to be the slightest bit scared.

"Not bad for your first try." The strange man said, bending down and picking up the shovel again. "But I'm fraid' the fun's over… so you put that down, come back to supper, an' we'll forget this ever happened. Cause' if you don't… well, then we're gonna have to find out jus' how far I can shove this here shovel up your asshole… the _metal end_ , case' you're wonderin'."

Jack just stood there, holding the shovel and staring at Ethan as if he expected him to actually do what he was suggesting. It wasn't a question of whether or not he thought the strange man would actually try to kill him, since Travis and Anderson's fates were evidence enough of what this family was capable of, but Ethan still had the pistol, so he aimed a little higher, and the garage was filled with even more light and sound as he put three more bullets right into Jack's chest.

The strange man gasped as the rounds tore into his flesh, making him stumble backwards into the wall, before slowly sinking to the concrete floor, but even though the danger was over, Ethan didn't have any time to relax. He needed to get out of there before the other Bakers showed up, since he didn't know how many bullets were in the Deputy's gun, so the first thing he did was take a quick look around the garage for a button like the other one he had seen.

There were tools and broken shelves around the area nearest to where Jack had fallen, but no button for the shutter. This meant that it could only be on the other side, so Ethan turned around and froze in place when he saw that there was a car parked in the far side of the room… _his_ car. His first thought had been that after getting outside he would have to take the Deputy's vehicle, which would have _wonderful_ to explain to the Sheriff, but now he could just use his own.

He figured that Jack or one of the others must've brought it there after the incident with Mia and Travis, but then he started to panic after finding that the doors were locked when he tried one. What if the keys were gone?! His mind screamed as he looked around. What if Lucas or Marguerite had them? What was he going to…

"Keys are on the bench, son." A voice said from behind.

Reflexively looking toward the nearest wall, Ethan spotted the bench where his keys had been left in plain sight, and he was just picking them up, when he gasped; his brain having just registered that the voice belonged to Jack, and turning around to see that the strange man wasn't dead… instead he was getting to his feet… and didn't appear to be hurt at all.


	9. Chapter 9 Louisiana Drift

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Nine: Louisiana Drift**

Ethan couldn't believe what he was seeing. After putting _four_ bullets from a _police pistol_ into Jack Baker, _three_ of which should have been fatal, the strange man was on his feet again as if nothing had happened. He wasn't bleeding, limping, or making any kind of noises to indicate that he was in pain from the gunshots, and if not for the splatters of blood on the wall behind him, there would have been no evidence of him ever having been shot at all.

"Pretty tight shot-group for a _city-boy_ , Ethan." Jack said, brushing the floor dust off of his dirty clothes. "But if you wanna be part of _this_ family, son, well… I'm gonna have to teach you some respect."

Casually bending down to retrieve the shovel, the strange man had already started walking toward Ethan, by the time he snapped out of the shocked trance, and found the ability to move again. This whole insane scenario was like something out of an 80's slasher film, but having watched a good number of those movies, mostly with Travis, he had a strong feeling that the gun wasn't going to be enough. The car, on the other hand…

The keys were already in his hand, so Ethan fired several shots with the pistol, some hitting Jack, and some hitting other things around the garage, as he ran over to the car, and thankfully one of them hit the strange man in the leg, giving Ethan time for his trembling hands to find the keyhole. Jack was standing up again by the time he got the car's driver-side door open, and once inside, Ethan closed and locked the door before starting the engine.

"Okay, asshole." He said, putting it in gear. "Let's see if you can get up from _this_."

The car had been parked sideways, so he had to back up first in order to turn the right direction; the tires making a loud squealing noise before his rear end struck the work bench where the keys had been sitting. There were bigger things to worry about than some minor damage to the frame, so Ethan put it in drive, and then stomped the accelerator, making sure to aim the center of the front end right at Jack. There was a loud _thump-thump_ as the strange man vanished underneath the car after impact, but then there was a hard _crash_ since Ethan was unable to stop before hitting the wall that had been behind the target.

He hadn't had a chance to put on his seatbelt, nor was he concerned with such things at the moment, so Ethan's forehead hit the steering wheel when the car came to an abrupt stop. He wasn't injured though, aside from the now throbbing pain, and there was no sign of Jack, so he put the car into reverse, and backed up so that the front end was now aimed at the garage's outer shutter. His car would probably be totaled after another hit, but he could still take the Deputy's car once outside, and Ethan was reaching for the gearshift, when something moved outside the passenger door.

Looking toward it out of reflex, Ethan gasped and had to shield his eyes as the shovel head slammed into the window with enough force to shatter it, showering him with little pieces of glass. Hearing the shovel fall onto the concrete as if it had been dropped, he moved his arm down just in time to see Jack Baker, once again recovered as if nothing happened, diving head-first through the window. He nearly landed in Ethan's lap, causing the pistol to fall onto the floor, and then the strange man pushed down on the accelerator with one hand, while grabbing onto the steering wheel with the other.

The tires squealed again, kicking up smoke as Jack let out a loud _rebel yell_ , and there was a burning smell left in the air as the car took off. Since it was still in reverse, they were quickly turned away from the shutter, and since the strange man was cranking the wheel to the side as far as he could, the two of them quickly entered a spin. Ethan tried to wrestle control from Jack, hitting the brakes and turning the wheel away from him, but this just made them change directions before resuming the spin.

"Now, this here's _drivin'_ , son!" Jack yelled with excitement over Ethan's terrified screams. "Jus' like doin' doughnuts in the soccer field, ain't it, city-boy?! You ever seen that _Tokyo Drift_ movie, Ethan?! Well, this here's _Lousiana Drift_ , _YEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAA_!"

Several times the corners of the car clipped the walls of the garage, and Ethan knew that it was only a matter of time before they wrecked really bad, but Jack was too strong to overpower, and the pistol was out of reach. Well, he couldn't just _allow_ Jack to drive him to his death, and he was trying desperately to think of a solution, when the car clipped another wall, and Ethan felt something in his pocket when he was bumped against the center console.

It was _Zoe's knife_! The one that she had given him to free himself with, and in all the excitement, he had forgotten about slipping it back into his pants pocket. It was a struggle to reach it, given the way that he was sitting, but then he opened the blade, and now it was Jack's turn to scream when the blade was stabbed right into his eye. But Ethan didn't stop there; he stabbed the strange man in the face again and again, finally getting his other eye, and making Jack let go of the wheel… just in time for them to slam into the wall at full speed.

Again, Ethan's forehead was bashed against the steering wheel, causing his vision to go white for a second, and leaving his ears ringing even after his eyes had refocused. Jack, however, wasn't so lucky. When the front end hit the wall, the side of the car hit the shutter hard enough to bend it outward, and the lower half of the strange man's body had been hanging out the window. The front end had been mostly crushed, with steam and different fluids spraying out from under the hood, meaning that the car was a total loss… and he would probably never be able to open that garage's outer shutter now.

The good news, though, was that Jack wasn't moving. His lower body was crushed between the car and the shutter, and his upper half was covered in blood… his own blood, that is. Yes, it looked like Ethan had finally won, but there was no time to relax, since now there were flames starting to come out from under the hood as well. He knew that he had to get out, before the flames hit the wrong chemical and exploded, so he put the knife back into his pocket, and had just picked up the fallen pistol from the floor, when he gasped as Jack suddenly grabbed onto his wrist.

"Fuck!" He couldn't help yelling as the flames started to spread.

"Do I got your attention, now, son?" The strange man asked, looking up and forcing the pistol toward his own head. "Watch close now, cause' your bout' to see somethin' _wonderful_. I said _watch_ , damnit!"

Try as he might, Ethan just wasn't strong enough to pull away, and now Jack was laughing as he stuck the barrel into his own mouth. With his thumb over Ethan's finger on the trigger, there was a loud _bang_ when the strange man squeezed, making blood spray all over what was left of the car's ceiling, as a huge hole was blown through the back of the strange man's head. Suddenly Jack's body went limp, allowing Ethan to scramble, or rather _fall_ out of the driver side door, and he was just getting up, when a small explosion knocked him back down on his face as the car burst into flames.

Thankfully, the garage was almost completely made of concrete, meaning that the whole house wasn't about to burn down with him trapped inside, but he wasn't exactly in condition to defend himself if one of the others showed up. He had to get out of there… he had to find Mia… but first he had to make his head stop pounding. The pounding, as well as the ringing in his ears just got worse as Ethan tried to get up, but he managed to succeed in making it to his hands and knees before falling over sideways.

Smoke was spreading from the car, and Jack's body was completely engulfed in flames, so at least he knew that the strange man wouldn't be coming after him ever again. But this knowledge didn't help Ethan get to his feet any faster. The good news was that after another minute or so, the pain started to fade, at least enough for him to make another attempt at standing, so he did, using what was left of the work bench as a brace… only to jump a little as someone grabbed him from behind.

"Ethan, stop." A familiar voice said, holding his wrists when he struggled. "Ethan, its _Zoe_ … it's _Zoe_ , Ethan, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Relaxing once he realized who the voice and hands belonged to, Ethan was so happy to see a sort of friendly face after the ordeal with Jack, that he couldn't help hugging the short-haired woman… although it was more like leaning on her so that he wouldn't fall over again. She didn't seem bothered by the hug, and then mentioned something about getting out of the garage, before changing her position so that he could lean on her even more while they headed toward the interior shutter.

"Just walk it off, Ethan." Zoe said, hitting the button to close the shutter once they were through. "You'll be fine, just… okay, here's the stairs… come on, _big_ step."

It was getting easier to move, and the ringing in his ears was nearly gone, but it was still nice for Ethan to get somewhat of a rest after… _everything_ that he had been through tonight. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Zoe took a look to see if anyone was around, before guiding him down a longer hallway that took them past the dining room and kitchen… two places that he _never_ wanted to see again. The wall was slightly more intact in this part of the house, and there were old portraits hanging, probably of family members, since most of them looked pretty old.

Rounding a corner, Ethan spotted more pictures, modern ones, the first one being of Jack and Marguerite, and they looked… happy… and _normal_. There were more… there was one of Lucas, where he looked like just as big of an asshole as he had been at dinner, and then there was a _really_ cute picture of Zoe, all dressed up next to the numbers _'07_ , and then Ethan realized that it was probably from her senior year of high school… huh, only a couple years after he had graduated, but then again… he hadn't really expected anyone from _this_ family to have even _gone_ to school.

There were two more pictures, and they put Ethan on edge, mostly since the first one was of Mia… and this made him wonder if the Bakers _truly_ considered his wife to be a part of their family. As weird as this concept was, it had probably saved Mia's life, since otherwise she might have ended up as one of the _others_ that Zoe had mentioned. The last picture was of a little girl, and at first he thought it was Zoe, until he realized that it was newer than the other ones… that, and she looked _nothing_ like Zoe… long black hair… a wider nose and face.

"We got to find somewhere to hide you." Zoe said as they approached a heavier looking door. "I got a place outside the main house, but daddy's always lockin' the place up tight for supper, and… well, I never saw no one get away from daddy before, so I didn't…

"It's okay, Zoe." Ethan replied, leaning on her a little less as the throbbing in his head continued to fade. "Just find me a place to sit for a minute… I need some answers."


	10. Chapter 10 History Lesson

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Ten: History Lesson**

The heavy door opened up into a much larger room that was in _far_ better condition than the rest of the house that Ethan had seen. Aside from the door he had come through, there were a few more spaced around the room, including one that looked like it was made of solid steel. It was surrounded by large windows, which were barred like the rest, and the center of the room was dominated by a pair of twin staircases that led to the second floor. Aside from being in better condition, though, everything was still dirty, and there were more piles of scattered newspapers and books all over the room's furniture.

"That over there's the way out." Zoe said, nodding toward the steel door. "Like I said, daddy keeps everythin' locked, but I don't think he's gonna be tellin' us much of anythin' right now, so we gotta find the key."

"Zoe, those pictures in the hall." Ethan replied as they moved across the room. "Your parents, they looked… what happened here? How did everything get like…

His words were interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the balcony overhead, and Zoe quickly shoved him against the wall in the shadows, while putting her hand over his mouth. At first Ethan was afraid that Jack had returned, but although the whistling and humming that could be heard above was male, it didn't sound like Jack. It had to be Lucas, and as the footsteps moved along the balcony, Ethan just hoped that he didn't come downstairs. Thankfully, he didn't, but he also didn't move on… in fact, his footsteps were now moving back and forth over a small space in a faster way as if he were… dancing?

" _Oh, I'm gonna make Mia scream my name_." Lucas sang as Zoe rolled her eyes. " _And I'm gonna make the city-boy watch_. _Next I'm gonna shoot him in the face, oh, yeah, then Mia and Zoe gonna mud-wrestle… mud-wrestle… Mia and Zoe gonna mud-wrestle, and the winner's gonna be… me._ "

This really… really odd song carried on for a few more seconds; something about _'fuck the stupid old man'_ , and _'burn the nasty old hag'_ , followed by _a lot_ more about Mia and Zoe, which didn't strike Ethan as something Lucas should've been saying, since as far as Ethan knew, Zoe was Lucas's _sister_. Finally, the song and dance ended with Lucas continuing on his way across the balcony, thankfully bypassing both sets of stairs, and vanishing after the sound of a door opening and closing.

"I wish I had a _good_ excuse for Lucas… but there ain't one." Zoe said quietly, taking her hand off Ethan's mouth. "He had… _issues_ even before all of… _this_ happened. Come on, we'll hide in the old sittin' room."

Grabbing his wrist and basically pulling him along, Zoe looked up to make sure that no one else was up on the balcony, before leading Ethan over to a side door that was close to the steel one. The door opened with a loud squeak, just like every other door in this house, and it led into a small sitting room, just like Zoe had said. There was an old leather sofa, caked with heavy dust, along with an old fireplace that didn't appear to have been used in a good long time, and the walls were decorated with hunting trophies, both stuffed animals and mounted antlers.

Zoe shut and bolted the door while Ethan sat down on the sofa, and as soon as he stopped coughing from the dust that was kicked up, he saw that there were some more pictures, smaller ones, on the end table. The first one that he noticed was of that same little girl that he had seen in the hallway, and there was a name on it… _Eveline_ … as well as a date… _2014_ … the year that Mia vanished.

"You should be okay in here for a while." Zoe said, walking over and joining him on the sofa. "I'm just gonna check that you don't have no _concussion_ or nothin', and then I gotta see bout' findin' that key."

"Zoe, wait a second." Ethan said as she turned his head so the overhead light shined in his eyes. "Look, I know we're pressed for time, and your family wants to kill me, but we're okay for a minute, right? I just need to know what's going on here… I mean, how did your family go from the people I saw on the wall, to… _this_?"

The short-haired woman continued to check his eyes and his head, as if hoping that he would forget his questions, but then she noticed that he was still staring at her once she was finished, so Zoe sighed and sat down next to him. She then took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket, along with a lighter, lit one up, and then blew out a stream of smoke that almost went unnoticed with all of the dust in the air.

"You remember the big storms of '14?" She asked, offering him a smoke, to which he turned down. "Everythin' was _fine_ before that, but the floods got real bad, and people jus' kept washin' right up in from the bayou… daddy found Mia that night, nearly drowned like a rat… and then a couple hours later, he up and found _her_."

Zoe pointed to the end table, and it took Ethan a second to realize that she was pointing to Eveline's picture. Of course, this brought up a bunch of questions that he had about what the hell his wife had even been _doing_ in Louisiana in the first place, since she had told him that she was going to a whole different part of the country, but he doubted that Zoe would know much about what happened before finding her… if that part of the story was even true.

"Daddy put the little girl in Lucas's old room." The short-haired woman continued, taking another puff. "He had me get her some of my old clothes, bein' that her's was all wet and dirty, but then everythin' went to hell. The power went out, and then mama jus'… mama just went plum _nuts_. She attacked me, and daddy sent me to get some rope to stop mama from hurtin' herself, but… when I got back, he was goin' nuts, too. He was stabbin' himself, and tryin' to drown mama, so I ran and hid."

Zoe was starting to get choked up as she told this story, and that was understandable, since everything that Ethan had seen tonight was messing with his emotions as well, so he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her as she cleared her throat, and she reacted by dropping the cigarette. At first he was worried that he was upsetting her, but then the short-haired woman suddenly scooted up against him, bringing her feet up onto the couch as if a cat trying to curl up. It had been a really long time since he had sat with a woman like this, hell, three years since he had even sat with his own wife like that, so he wasn't sure what was appropriate.

"I saw daddy drag Lucas away." Zoe continued as he hesitantly put his arm around her to sort of pat her on the back. "He was yellin' some nonsense about _bein' a happy family_ , and _showin' our devotion_ , and I know I should've helped Lucas, but I was scared, so I ran out to my place to hide, and there was Mia, all passed out on the floor. Lord knows how she got out there, but it looked like she tried to scribble some kinda note, but Eveline showed up before I could read it. Don't rightly know _what_ happened next, but I woke up at the breakfast table, and things jus'… things jus' been _wrong_ ever since."

She had started to cry a little bit, but managed to stop and regain her composure, sliding back from Ethan after wiping her eyes on his shirt. He felt so bad for her, and wished that there was more he could've done to comfort her, but… but, it was difficult enough trying to comfort himself. He was just so wrapped up in finding Mia, staying alive, and trying to make sense out of this whole nightmare… but it did feel kind of nice to sit with Zoe like that.

"I know that things seem, uh, bad… Zoe." Ethan said, trying to make her feel better. "But, hey, that was a _cop_ in the garage, and when he doesn't report back, it's only a matter of time before his friends show up, right? Then when they do, you, me, and Mia can all get out of here."

"Sounds great, but it ain't that simple." She replied, picking up the fallen cigarette and ashing it on the floor. "I don't know how to explain it completely, but, my family and me, and Mia, we're all… infected with a kinda… well, I'd say a kinda _mold_ , but you'd jus' look at me like I was stupid. We can't leave the property like we are… one guy tried; one of them _Sewer Gators_ tried, you know, them ones from _YouTube_. You know, _ba-da-daa-da, Sewer Gators_. He tried to leave, but he turned all white, and… let's jus' say he died."

Ethan remembered Travis mentioning the Sewer Gators before, and he couldn't help asking what happened to them, but immediately wished that he hadn't. Apparently Jack had caught them snooping around that other house, but they hadn't been as lucky as he had. One of them had been killed on the spot; his face beaten in by Jack before the others even knew that he was there. As for the other three, well, according to Zoe, one of them became infected and was welcomed to the family… the one that tried to escape. The next one was apparently killed by Mia in the kitchen, as hard as that was to hear, and the last one was given to Lucas, but although the short-haired woman didn't know the details, there really hadn't been much left when he was done.

"Right, that's enough sittin' around." Zoe said, standing up, and putting her cigarette out on the old fireplace. "Now, I'm gonna see if I can't find where daddy put that key, so you jus'… stay here, okay? And lock the door."

She didn't wait for his reply before leaving the room, and as she asked, Ethan re-bolted the door once she was gone. It was nice that she was willing to go and find where the key was, so that he didn't have to risk getting discovered by Lucas or Marguerite, but at the same time he felt a little ashamed for letting her put herself in danger, since who knew what the rest of the family would do to her for helping him… especially now that he had killed the family patriarch. Through the walls, he had been able to hear her footsteps as she went up the stairs, and went through a door, but then everything got quiet for a while.

"Listen, you dumb fuck!" Zoe suddenly yelled, making him jump a little. "I wanna go out to my place for a while, and I'm needin' the damn key in order to do that. I know it's a lot to ask from you, Lucas, but maybe, _jus' maybe_ , do you think you could pretend that you're _not_ a damn retard for a minute?!"

"I am _not_ a retard, you stupid bitch!" Lucas could be heard yelling back. " _Look at me, I'm Zoe, I'm a spoiled brat, and everyone should kiss my ass cause' I got boobies and a college degree, and I'm_ … oh, hi, Eveline. Did Zoe wake you up with her big, stupid… yes, I know we're a happy family… but she started… fine, I'm sorry I called you names, Zoe… yes, I mean it… the key's in the _slaughterhouse_ , now get out so Eveline can take her nap!"

Well, it seemed that Zoe had been successful in discovering where the key was hidden, but as Ethan heard her footsteps coming back down the stairs, he just hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to find. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone knew about what he had done to Jack yet, but like with everything else, it was probably only a matter of time.


	11. Chapter 11 Into the Basement

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Eleven: Into the Basement**

After hiding around the couch just in case it wasn't Zoe that was now opening the sitting room door, Ethan sighed with relief when he saw that it was. Being in this place was really starting to make him paranoid; worried that someone was going to jump out at him from behind every corner… but then again, was it _really_ paranoia if someone really _was_ after him? He couldn't help but wonder, as the short-haired woman motioned for him to follow her, if this experience was going to stay with him after he managed to escape… was he going to be fine afterwards, or would he suffer the after-effects of this nightmare and need therapy, or…

"Lucas said the key's in the slaughterhouse." Zoe whispered, interrupting his thoughts as she led him down another, darker hallway. "That's down in the cellar, and… you're gonna see things down there you're not gonna like, but ain't nothin' can be done bout' that."

"I'm fine as long as it gets us out of here." He replied when she stopped to peek around the next corner.

Satisfied that no one was around, she led him around the corner, but then stopped at the first wooden door that they came to. Like everything else in the Baker house, its boards were faded and starting to rot around the very edges, and this made him realize something. Out of everything, and _everyone_ there, Zoe was the only thing that seemed mostly normal. So how was it that she had managed to keep her sanity after…

"Aw shit, this one's locked, too." The short-haired woman said as she tried the door. "Don't worry, I know right where the key is, so you jus' stay outa sight, and I'll be right back."

She vanished back around the corner without even waiting to hear his protest about being left alone again, but now there was little point in doing or saying anything. Doing as she said and hiding in the shadows, Ethan listened to the sound of her footsteps growing softer until they were gone, and then about a minute later he heard them again, this time getting closer. He was happy that retrieving the key to the basement had taken such a short time, although every second in this place felt like an hour, so he stepped out of his hiding place just as her shadow was coming into view.

"I'm glad you're back, Zoe." He said, rounding the corner to meet her. "We need to…

"Guess again, city-boy." Jack Baker replied as he grabbed Ethan, before lifting him off his feet and shoving him up against the wall. "So _that's_ your game, huh? Plannin' to kill me then go runnin' off into the night with my daughter, right? Well, I hate to disappoint you, son, but you'll be spendin' the night with _me_ … now, I know I ain't as _purdy_ as Zoe is, but that's jus' somethin' you're gonna have to live with."

Laughing at his own joke through cracked and burnt lips, the strange man seemed content to simply hold him there while he… regenerated? Ethan couldn't believe what he was seeing, watching wide-eyed as all of the burns, cuts, and even the blown-out part of the back of Jack's skull simply reformed over the next few seconds, healing up to the point where if Ethan hadn't inflicted most of the damage himself, he would never have believed that the strange man had had even _been_ injured in the first place.

"Oh, this?" Jack asked, briefly looking down at himself. "Hell of a thing, ain't it? See, my youngest… my precious little girl, gave us in the family a gift, and I'll tell you what, it sure as shit beats dyin', am I right? Course I am, but I gotta ask you, son… what're you doin' hidin' by that door, there? You tryin' to get to the cellar, city-boy? Think there might be a way out down there? How bout' you go look?"

The strange man suddenly pulled Ethan away from the wall, and swung him around, before tossing him right into the wooden door. Splinters went flying as the impact busted the door into a dozen pieces, but instead of simply landing on the floor, he crashed onto the stairs that came after. Bouncing and rolling backwards into the darkness, Ethan saw the hallway light get smaller after each roll, until the wind was knocked out of him upon hitting the cold, concrete surface of the cellar.

Having landed on his back, he could see when Jack started walking down the stairs after him, and even though the strange man seemed to have lost his shovel, Ethan knew that he had to get up. He wished that he had a little more of Zoe's green medicine as he scrambled up to his feet, since his back was sore and his head was once again throbbing from the impact, and thankfully he managed to get up before the strange man reached him.

Ethan had also tucked the pistol into the back of his belt, which was good since it meant that the weapon wasn't lost during the fall, although it hah caused a little extra back pain each time he had rolled over it. Either way, he still had a weapon, so after backing down the dark hallway a few steps, he drew the pistol, aimed and squeezed the trigger… only to be greeted with a disheartening _click_.

"Aw, what's the matter, son?" Jack asked, continuing to approach. "You done run right outa ammo, huh?"

Well, that was it for the pistol, but he still had Zoe's knife… although there was no time for him to take it out before the strange man reached him. Pulling the pistol out of Ethan's hands, and smacking him across the face with it, Jack tossed the empty weapon away, causing a _clickity-click_ as it vanished into the darkness. At the same time, the hit made Ethan stumble sideways and collapse against the cinderblock wall, slowly sinking down to his hands and knees, but then he cried out when the strange man grabbed him by the hair.

"Now, I been doin' me some thinkin', son." Jack said, dragging Ethan along behind him as he started down the corridor. "See, the way I figure it, maybe you jus' don't understand how lucky you are… for some _strange_ reason, Eveline's wantin' you to be part of the family, so maybe you need to see what happens to _assholes_ like you who go around tryin' to reject that gift."

Grabbing onto the strange man's wrist in an attempt to break his grip, Ethan kicked and struggled, but could do nothing as he was dragged around a corner. The basement there was even darker than the one where he had found Mia in that cage, with several feet of dark space in between each solitary lightbulb that hung from the ceiling, and this caused him to worry that he would end up locked in a cage himself. However, instead of putting Ethan into a cage, Jack simply opened the next door they came to, moved Ethan so that he was in front of him, and booted him in the rear.

"Remember, son, this is for your own good." The strange man said, shutting and locking the door as Ethan fell on his face. "The key's in the drawer over there when you're wantin' to come out… but my little girl demands we show our dedication, so you gotta want it _real_ bad, you hear?"

"Wait!" Ethan called, jumping to his feet as Jack walked away. "Hey! Don't leave me in here!"

He was gone, and no matter how hard Ethan pulled on the partially rusted, barred door, it wouldn't do much more than rattle. There was a keyhole on this side of the door just like Jack had said, and apparently the point here was for him to find it, so Ethan turned around, and suddenly felt even more uneasy. There was a hanging light in the center, allowing him to see that there was a long metal table in the center of the room, surrounded by two chairs, and along the far wall, there were a series of cupboards built into stacked rows and columns.

Everything was stained by what looked like dried blood, leaving a heavy smell of rust in the air, and… and then Ethan's mind froze as he realized that this place had been built like some kind of _morgue_. It was like on CSI, where they had victims' bodies in storage units along the wall, and performed autopsies on the long table… but why in the hell would _anyone_ have one of these in their _basement_?!

Was this where all of the _others_ that Zoe had mentioned ended up? Were the people from Sewer Gators stuffed into these lockers after having been… no, wait, all of the lockers were open, and thankfully there were no bodies inside. Well, there was _one_ that was closed, and if Ethan were a betting man, he would have put everything on the line that this was where the key Jack mentioned was located.

"You probably don't want to do that." A new voice said from behind. "You aren't ready for what's in there… not yet."

Turning around, Ethan saw that there was someone standing on the other side of the door. It was a little girl, maybe age ten or eleven, with long black hair, but what he noticed the most about her was that she didn't look, or even sound like the Bakers. She smiled when he looked at her, and then motioned for him to come over to the door, which Ethan found himself doing, since maybe she could open the door for him.

"Hey, uh… little girl." He said, momentarily feeling like he had seen her somewhere before. "Could you open this door for me?"

"Yes, I can." The little girl politely replied. "But first, I have a gift for you, Ethan… then everyone will be happy, and we can all be a family? Doesn't that sound nice?"

At first Ethan was confused by her choice of words, but it was so hard to think, because for some reason it was really hard to keep looking at this little girl for long periods of a time. It was like his eyes were straining to see something that was out of focus, even though she was right there in front of him… and then he remembered what Jack had said about his _little girl_ having giving him a gift… one that was with him always.

"You mean… be like the others?" He asked, taking a nervous step back from the bars. "Are you… are you _Eveline_?"

"Stop looking at me like that!" The little girl yelled, suddenly making Ethan feel off balance as if everything had shaken. "Stop looking at me like the doctors did! I'm not a freak, God damn it! I'm a little girl with a family that loves me, and if you… if you… if…

Suddenly her grip on the bars loosened, nearly letting her fall down as she leaned on the door, and now her breathing had become labored as if she were exerting herself. The little girl's eyes closed for a second as she let out a long, loud yawn, and it seemed to be a struggle for her just to get them open again. For Ethan, it was now even harder to look at her, and his eyes strained nearly to the point of tears with the effort.

"I can't… so tired." She said, sleepily stepping back from the bars. "I need to… finish my nap. "Get the key by your… _yourself_ , Ethan. We'll talk later."

Her breathing became more labored as she turned and slowly walked away from the door, once again leaving Ethan alone in the morgue. Now it looked like he had no choice but to get the key the way Jack wanted him to, so he turned around, and looked nervously at the single, closed locker on the wall.


	12. Chapter 12 The Molded

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twelve: The Molded**

Now that both Jack and the little girl were gone, this… _morgue_ was almost completely silent, aside from the light fixture that was making a low _creak_ as it slowly swung back and forth. It bothered Ethan how much the two of them had emphasized him getting the key out of the locker, since it seemed like a relatively simple task… but then again, so had _going to dinner_ before he had met the Bakers.

Was it some kind of a trap? Was it some kind of awkward test? Eveline had mentioned that she would be talking to him again after finishing her nap, making him doubt that whatever was going to happen would kill him, but still it seemed better to be cautious, especially in a place like this. So he took another look around the room for a hidden key, or anything else that could be useful in _any_ way, but aside from the chairs and bloodstained table, the whole place was empty.

"This is stupid." He whispered to himself, looking at the locker. "You can't just stand here forever, Ethan… Mia needs you… _Zoe_ needs you. Okay… here we go."

Hesitating again in the middle of taking the first step, Ethan growled in frustration as he forced himself to keep walking, and then he grabbed the locker's handle, pulling it open before his mind could convince him that this was a bad idea. Well, nothing stabbed him when it opened, which was good, but the smell was a different story. As soon as the locker was slid open, his nostrils were assaulted by the overpowering odor of stagnant, black mold, forcing him to step away, while coughing heavily.

A couple seconds later the coughing stopped, but the odor of the mold, along with the lingering rusty stench of the room, nearly made him vomit. Leaning against the open lockers on the other side of the room, Ethan took several deep breaths in order to get his stomach back under control, and then he looked into the formerly closed locker, making sure to lean back to avoid the smell.

The inside bottom and walls were caked heavily with a black moldy substance that looked, and smelled like exactly what it was. However, the one distinctive feature was a small metal object that might have once been shiny, and once Ethan leaned in closer, he saw that the object was a small key which rested on a thin metal chain. For a moment he mentally kicked himself for having been so nervous, since Jack was clearly fucking with him again, so he reached for the key, only to gasp as a blackened, skeletal hand reached up and grabbed onto his wrist.

Ethan tried to pull away, but the grip on his wrist was too strong for him to break, and now all of the mold in the locker was beginning to shift. The most solid parts seemed to temporarily liquefy as they swirled around, solidifying again once it had covered the skeletal hand, as well as every inch of the boney arm that followed as… _something_ … started to sit up inside the locker. Each new part that was exposed simply looked like a blackened human skeleton, but as the mold covered it, the height and mass was increasing, and it maintained its grip on his wrist as it slowly climbed out of the locker.

The… _monster_ … was now nearly seven feet tall, and built like a linebacker once its moldy exoskeleton finished solidifying, leaving no trace of the human bones underneath. Long claws had also formed at the end of its enlarged hands, and similar sharpened objects now filled the mouth of its slightly elongated head. It now made sense for the key to be on a chain, since it now hung tightly around the monster's neck, but there was no time to reach for it, as the other clawed arm made an attempt on his life.

Still unable to break the grip on his wrist, Ethan leaned back as far as he could to avoid the attack, but the very tips of them were still able to cut across his cheek. There was no time to react to this, since the monster immediately pulled back its arm for another try, and this time Ethan dropped down to avoid it. The claws missed entirely, flying through the air about a foot above him, and although he was still unable to free himself, Ethan had managed to put the creature off balance enough to make it stumble forward.

Until this very moment, Ethan had been convinced that the Bakers couldn't surprise him anymore, but this… this was just _madness_. It was difficult for his mind to accept that he was locked inside someone's private morgue, fighting for his life again a creature that seemed to be made of human bones and mold… of course, he would have sounded insane trying to describe this to anyone else, and now he understood why Zoe had been hesitant.

Figuring that this was his only chance to free himself, he pulled on the monster's arm in the opposite direction, hoping to make it have to choose between holding him or falling down, but instead it didn't even look before slashing backwards at him with its free hand. The bad news was that the claws hit him this time, sinking deeply into his shoulder, but the good news, for once, was that in using this blind attack, the creature ended up falling forward after completely severing its own forearm.

This was the one that had been holding him, so he fell on his ass while the creature fell on its face, and Ethan was _not_ going to waste this opportunity to escape. Starting toward the door, he stopped when he remembered that the creature still had the key, but in a matter of seconds it would be on its feet again, so what was he going to do? He still had Zoe's knife, but didn't like the idea of getting that close to the monster, with or without the loss of its one hand, and aside from that, the only usable things in the room were the chairs.

Well, it was better than nothing, so against his instincts, Ethan rushed back toward the creature, and picked up one of the metal chairs. The fresh wound to his shoulder made this a bit harder to do as he raised the chair above his head, but it was all worth it when he brought it down on the monster's back with a hollow _thud_ , forcing it back down to its hand and knees. There was no outcry of pain, nor any sound of annoyance or even anger when he lifted the chair and struck it a second time, and in fact, aside from its movements, the creature made no sounds at all.

It also showed no signs of feeling pain, or of even being aware that something was hitting it, and even after a _fourth_ hit to its back, the monster was starting to recover just as quickly as it had after the first. Ethan knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, and it was getting difficult for him to even pick up the chair anymore, so he made a desperate grab for the key. His fingers wrapped around the chain and pulled, but for some reason the thin, rusted metal didn't break.

Ethan pulled on it as hard as he could, but had no luck, and then he found himself crying out loudly when he felt the back of the creature's claws tear his shirt open as they raked across his chest. The force of this blow was enough to throw him backwards, and even though he had been hit with the back of the claws, a fact which probably saved his life, the burning pain that he now felt was excruciating.

Unfortunately, the monster seemed fine as it got to its feet, slowly turning toward Ethan as he tried to figure out how the hell he was going to get that key now, but then he realized that there was something in his hand. Taking a quick look as the creature approached, he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that he now had the key along with the now broken chain, figuring that it must've broken when he took that last hit. Of course, now he had to get back to the door and use it, so he kicked the monster in the ankle, hoping to at least slow it down for a second while he scrambled under the table.

However, the kick barely did anything, and the monster was already halfway around the table by the time he got to the other side and up to his hands and knees. Rather than take the time to stand up, Ethan crawled across the floor as quickly as he could, reaching the barred door with plenty of time to spare… that is, if he could've gotten his hands to cooperate. Trying to keep his fumbling hands steady was hard enough without hearing the creature's heavy footsteps slowly approaching from behind.

"Come on, come on!" He pleaded, trying to get the key in the hole. "Damn it, go in!"

Grabbing his wrist with his other hand in an attempt to steady it, the footsteps were getting even closer by the time that the key was put into the lock, so he turned it and pulled the door open just in time for the monster to make another attack. This time its claws struck the door at the same time that Ethan was crawling through, temporarily pinning him until the creature had to pull its arm back, this time allowing him to get all the way through. This time when the monster's claws hit the door, it closed all the way with an echoing _bang_.

Reaching through the bars to pull the key out, Ethan tossed it down the hallway while scooting backwards against the far wall, and the creature struck the door one more time before stopping. No more attacking, no more advancing, no _nothing_ … it just stood there for several second before slowly turning away, lurching itself back over toward the locker, but only making it about halfway before just… collapsing. In far less time than it had taken to form, the monster was reduced into a pile of black mold and human bones, leaving the basement once again silent.

Looking left and right, there didn't seem to be any more of those monsters around, nor was there any sign of Jack or Eveline, so Ethan just leaned back against the wall and sighed with relief. Now that he had a second to relax, the pain in his shoulder and chest was getting worse, although once he got a chance to take a look at the wounds, they didn't appear to be that deep… although they probably needed to be cleaned out unless he wanted to get an…

Freezing in place when his mind passed over the possibility of an infection, Ethan couldn't help but worry about himself getting _infected_ in the same manner that Zoe had described happening to her family, Mia, and even herself. Was that even how it worked? There had been so little time for explanations, but he didn't want to risk the possibility, so he pulled himself to his feet… had to keep moving. Of course, as he continued moving down the hallway, he wondered if there even was a way to cure… whatever the infection _actually_ was.

The more he thought about it, the more nervous it made him, so Ethan was trying to keep his mind focused on finding the key in the slaughterhouse… wherever that was, when he found his thoughts interrupted. It was while moving through one of the long dark stretches between hanging lights, when his legs bumped into something… something that was easily moved forward away from him. It made a kind of familiar squeaking sound as it moved further away, but it wasn't until the object moved into the nearby light beam, that he realized that it was a… wheelchair?

Yes, it was a wheelchair that rolled to a stop under the next hanging light, and slumped over on that chair, fast asleep, was the elderly woman, Granny Baker, that he had seen at the dinner table. Ethan couldn't help wondering why they would leave an elderly woman down there all by herself, but he couldn't stop to help her, since she might raise the alarm if she woke up and was startled by him. So with mixed feelings, Ethan quietly moved around the wheelchair, and tried not to make any noise as he rounded the next corner.


	13. Chapter 13 Slaughterhouse

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirteen: Slaughterhouse**

The pain in Ethan's chest and shoulder was starting to numb as he wandered farther into the basement, which would make things easier if anything else came to attack him, but nothing else did. Aside from the morgue, the lowest level of the Baker house seemed to be empty, at least of abominations, but there was no shortage of the strange, black moldy material. There were traces of it in the corridors, mostly leaking down the walls from the ceiling, and in the next open chamber, a boiler room by the looks of the heavy machinery and storage tanks, the walls were almost completely covered.

Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any more skeletons hidden within the mold… at least, none that were jumping out to attack him… but the same odor that had choked him after opening the locker was permeating the entire room, making it almost impossible for Ethan to take a breath without coughing or gagging. There were a couple rows of boilers and furnaces that he had to navigate through before reaching the other side, but since the machines were cold from lack of use, he was able to take a shortcut by squeezing his way between some of them.

It was a good thing that Ethan was so skinny, or he would have never been able to make it through a certain tight spot between a boiler and a storage tank, He did make it, though, and continued trying to hold his breath as he rushed toward a wooden door on the far side of the room. Worrying that it would be locked like some of the other doors in the Baker house, he was happy to discover that it was open, allowing Ethan to take in a deep breath once through… only to gag again by another stench.

The odor of the black mold was gone, but it had been replaced by the heavy scent of rust, a dozen times more potent than what had been experienced in the morgue. This was explained by the nearly solid red coating across the metal grated floor… and on the cinder block walls, and pooled up underneath the floor in a kind of room-wide catch basin. There were more lights spaced around this vast chamber, allowing Ethan to see firstly that it had an upper and lower level, accessed by a staircase to his immediate right.

The second thing that he noticed was the cage; an enclosed area right in front of him with a locked gate, and what looked like… _meat_ … hanging down from hooks with chains attached to the ceiling. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this place was the slaughterhouse that Zoe had mentioned, but then the search for the key was forgotten after Ethan moved up to the locked gate for a closer look at the meat. Where one would expect to see cows, or pigs hanging there, the reality was far worse, as the first thing that Ethan was able to identify was a leg… a _human_ leg, hanging there with the hook through the foot.

And there was more… more legs, arms, and even a couple of heavily mutilated torsos, leaving him with two very strong feelings. The first was utter disgust at what he was seeing, and the second was a single question that was now burning through his mind: Just how many people had become victims of the Bakers over the last three years? The body parts were in all shapes and sizes, both male and female, and some were smaller… no bigger than Eveline. Forcing himself to not think about that last part any longer, Ethan's new goal was to get the hell out of there, so he turned and made his way up the stairs.

No matter how much he wanted to leave, without finding the key, he and Zoe would just end up having to come back down into this nightmare, and since he didn't see it anywhere in plain sight, Ethan decided to start by entering the first door that he came to. The first door along the wall was unlocked, so he walked in, and saw that it was a large storage room that had been partitioned by a makeshift wall of old shelving units and junk. There was no key anywhere to be found in this mostly empty room, and he was about to leave, when the door to the other section of the room opened, forcing Ethan to hide behind the junk wall as Jack Baker walked in.

"We were supposed to be a _family_." The strange man said, dragging something into the room behind him. "I'm supposed to be the father, here, Goddamn it… _me_! No one else!"

After bringing the object into the light, Ethan saw that it was a dead body that Jack was dragging… and not just any body… but the mutilated remains of Deputy Anderson. With an outcry of rage, the strange man lifted the cops's body off the floor, and pinned it up against the wall with one hand; using the other to reach for a long, nearby knife. He then rammed the blade through the cop's chest so hard that some small cracks formed in the wall behind it, and this was sufficient to hold Anderson's body there once Jack let go.

"You know what a _family_ is, you fuckin' pig?!" The strange man yelled, punching the body. "Well, its _real_ fuckin' simple, ain't it?! I'm the father, _Marguerite's_ the mother, _Lucas's_ the oldest child, _Zoe's_ the big sister… or is _Mia_ older? Hell, I don't fuckin' know, you tin-star wearin' _prick_! All I know's that Eveline… my precious little girl, _Eveline's_ the youngest. So when some _city-boy_ comes in wantin' to take all my daughters away from me, I get mad… so I'm gonna _find_ that boy, and when I do, I'm gonna beat him to death with his own _spine_ , you piece of…

Suddenly Jack's words were interrupted as the door opened again, and in came Lucas, struggling to restrain… _Mia_ , as he forced her into the room. The strange man just looked at them as Mia stomped his foot and elbowed him in the ribs to try and get away, but this just seemed to make Lucas mad. So he let go of Mia, only to grab her again by the wrist when she tried to run away, and then pulled her right into his fist as he slugged her in the stomach. Ethan's first instinct was to rush over there and rescue his wife, as she collapsed to the floor, but what could he do against both Jack and Lucas… aside from getting himself killed.

"Hey, daddy, look what I found tryin' to get away again." Lucas laughed, walking up to the cop's body and removing the handcuffs from the gun-belt. "Hey, all right, looks like the damn _pig_ was good for somethin' _after all_ , huh?"

He moved back over to Mia as she was starting to get up, and bent down to put the handcuffs on her, but instead howled in surprise and pain when she slammed the back of her head into his face. Hey, Ethan thought as his wife got up, maybe she would be able to escape again, and he could find her later. Then Zoe could help _her_ hide as well… but then these hopes were dashed when Mia's escape was stopped by Jack grabbing her by the throat.

"Damn it, girl, how many times we gotta go through this?!" The strange man scolded, holding her in place as Lucas cuffed her hands behind her back. "We opened our home to you an' your sister, Eveline; we welcomed you into the family, and how do you repay us? You go around tryin' to run away with that _city-boy_. I swear, you'n Zoe are gonna be the _death_ of me… Lucas, try to be _useful_ for once, and take her back to her room."

"Sure thing, daddy." Lucas laughed, looping his arm tightly around Mia's neck. "Now you and me are gonna have even _more_ fun, Mia… bein' that you can't fight back and all."

Lucas then gave her a kiss on the cheek, and of course Mia tried to pull away, resulting in her taking another hit to the stomach. That was the last straw, Ethan couldn't take seeing this happen to his wife any more, and he was just about to try pushing the junk wall over on top of them, when he was pushed back down into his hiding place by a small pair of hands on his shoulders from behind.

"Does that make you _angry_ , Ethan?" Eveline's voice whispered into his ear as Lucas dragged Mia out of the room, followed by Jack. "You'll _never_ beat daddy on your own, and now Lucas is going to do _terrible_ things to Mia… just like he's _been_ doing to her since we got here. I can make you stronger than _both_ of them, though… if you accept my gift. Then you can save Mia, and we can be a family; you, me, Mia, _and_ Zoe. Now, sneak back out of here, and think about it while I finish my nap."

With that, the hands let go of his shoulders, and Ethan spun around to see that the room was empty. There was no sign of the little girl anywhere, but one thing was for sure, and that was that he was _never_ going to be like the Bakers, not in a _million_ years. He also couldn't just leave Mia in Lucas's clutches, especially if what Eveline told him was true… so he moved back toward the door, opened it very quietly, and peeked out to see that no one was in sight. There was, however, something shiny now hanging from a shorter chain on the other side of the area.

Waiting a few extra seconds just to be safe, Ethan came out of the room, and kept looking around in case Jack or Lucas were hiding somewhere, but nothing happened until he reached the other side of the upper level. Now standing on the ledge that overlooked the cage he had seen on the lower level, he took a closer look at the object hanging off the short chain, and gasped when he saw that it was a key. Unlike everything else in the Baker house, this key was still shiny, and looked just like one would expect an outside door key to be… but it _was_ slightly out of reach.

Stretching out his arm as far as it would go, Ethan just couldn't reach the chain, at least… not without leaning _dangerously_ far over the edge. There wasn't anything for him to grab onto, either, so it was slow going as he leaned out, came back when he started to lose his balance, and leaned out again until… his fingers just barely managed to touch the chain. He also barely managed to keep himself from falling down into the cage, and this time it took a second to steady himself.

"Come on, Ethan, you can do this." He said to himself, staring at the hanging key. "Just gotta reach a little more, and… or _do_ I?"

Maybe he had been going about this the wrong way, and Ethan looked around the slaughterhouse, it was pretty obvious that the many chains were designed to hold a lot of weight. So, without being completely sure of what he was doing, and before he could talk himself out of it, he jumped for the chain, grabbing onto it and swinging outward while he took the key. Now all he had to do was jump off when the chain went back, so he did, somehow managing to land gracefully back on the platform even though he had been jumping backwards. Well, that was that, Ethan thought as he put the key into his pocket, and then he turned to leave, only to find that Jack was standing right behind him.

"Didn't think a _city-boy_ knew _how_ to swing on a rope." The strange man said as Ethan just stared at him with eyes wide. "Now let's see if you can _tumble_ , too."

Jack then brought up his leg and booted Ethan in the chest, knocking him off his feet, and sending him falling down into the enclosed cage below.


	14. Chapter 14 Cage Fight

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Cage Fight**

The only nice thing about how many times Ethan had been thrown or kicked around lately, was that it was never too far of a fall. However, this did not mean that the landings couldn't still be painful, especially when it involved his back and head slamming into the metal grated floor of an enclosed cage inside of a human slaughterhouse. Of course, this time there wasn't much opportunity to further explore his surroundings, because Ethan had just barely rolled to a stop, when Jack Baker jumped down into the cage with him.

"Where you gonna run _now_ , city-boy?" The strange man asked, landing gracefully on his feet while Ethan scrambled to get up. "I tell ya, son, you open your home to ungrateful _shits_ like you'an Mia, hopin' that a good family life will be enough to make'em change their ways, but it never works, does it? Ya'll jus' _run away_ or _call for help_ … well, neither one gonna help you much down here."

"Jack, listen to yourself." Ethan replied once he was on his feet. "Zoe told me that things weren't always like this… the Bakers _were_ a good family… you were _nice_ people, once. Try to remember the way you were before… before I guess you just… _found_ Eveline and Mia. Would you have hurt so many people back then, Jack? _Can_ you even remember?"

Trying to appeal to anything that might have been left of the strange man's humanity was the only thing that Ethan could think to do, since as far as he could see, Jack was right about his surroundings. There was literally nowhere for him to run, and it didn't look like Zoe would be able to do much for him this time. Honestly, given the effect that Zoe said Eveline had on people, he didn't expect his strategy to work, but instead of attacking him like usual, the strange man remained where he was, just standing there with a look of sadness on his face.

"I wanted you to be part of the family, son." Jack continued. "Zoe seems _real_ sweet on you, and _God_ knows Lucas could use a big brother… help him pull his head outa his ass. But you see, Ethan… Eveline's startin' to doubt me… startin' to wonder if I'm the best man to be her daddy. So you and me, we're gonna settle this right here, by havin' us a good ol' fashion country ass-whoopin'… and I'll even let you hit me first… before I go rippin' your lungs out, that is."

Well, it seemed like words had failed, and now the strange man was walking toward him, after giving him the redneck equivalent of throwing down the gauntlet. However, instead of grabbing him right away, Jack stopped and stood still once he had reached Ethan, apparently having told the truth about letting him make the first hit. There didn't seem to be much choice in the matter, and there was no doubt that he was meant the join the other victims of the slaughterhouse, so Ethan balled up his fist, and punched the strange man in the mouth as hard as he could.

Jack's head was tilted backwards a little, but that was it, so Ethan punched him again, this time in the side of the face, causing the strange man's head to turn a little, but nothing else. His plan had been to surprise him with how hard he could hit, and then use the time bought from knocking him down to find a way out of the cage… but clearly this plan wasn't going to work, since Jack was barely reacting to the hits. Trying one more time to knock him down, Ethan swung, but this time the strange man grabbed his fist, twisted it around behind Ethan's back, and shoved him forward.

"I gotta be honest with you, son." Jack said as Ethan fell to the floor after stumbling a few steps. "Now, I don't wanna be rude by sayin' that you hit like a girl, but that's purdy hard to do, seein' as, well, you hit like a _girl_. It's all that soft _city livin'_ you done, gone and made you a _wuss_ … now, let me show you how a _man_ throws himself a punch."

The strange man advanced once he was done talking, putting up his fists, and taking a swung at Ethan once he was close enough. Ethan managed to avoid it by ducking down, and circling around behind him, but Jack spun around and swung at him again before he could do anything else. This time the blow connected, hitting Ethan in the side of the head, and causing him to fall against the nearby wall, but the strange man wasn't quite finished yet.

Ethan had managed to stay on his feet, using the barred wall as a support, but this became pointless when Jack threw a right hook into his stomach, knocking the wind out of Ethan as he fell to his hands and knees. The strange man then grabbed him by the hair and forced him to stand back up, and maintained this grip so that Ethan couldn't fall down even after being hit in the stomach another three times. Grabbing onto Jack's wrist with both hands in an attempt to stop him from attacking, Ethan struggled to give himself a single second to catch his breath, but was stopped when the strange man head-butted him.

His vision going white for a second after taking the blow to his forehead, Ethan was only dimly aware of Jack punching him in the face, and even less aware that the grip on his hair had been released, until his vision came back into focus, and Ethan realized that he was now lying on the floor. At this point it was becoming pretty obvious that he was no match for Jack in a fair fight, but what else could he do? At the rate he was going, the strange man was going to beat him to death before too long, but there was nothing that…

Shifting onto his side in an attempt to get up, Ethan felt something in his pocket, making him remember that even though his pistol was gone for good, he still had Zoe's pocket knife. This fact gave him a somewhat better chance at getting out of this situation alive, so he remained on the floor, stealthily taking out the weapon, and opening the blade as the strange man approached.

"Jesus, boy, you fight like _Zoe_." Jack said, walking up to him. "Wait, that's not fair… I reckon she's a bit _better_ at it, but still, you figure even a sissy little city-boy like you would be a bit tougher when it came to fightin' for your…

The strange man's words stopped, and became an outcry of surprise as he bent down to grab him, and Ethan shoved the knife right into his eye. He pushed the blade in as far as he could, and Jack reacted by stumbling backwards, giving Ethan another opportunity to fight back. Jumping to his feet, he punched the strange man in the mouth, and once in the stomach, seeming to have a lot more effect on his opponent since he was focused on pulling the knife out of his eye.

Now running at him, Ethan ducked down and rammed his shoulder into Jack's stomach, forcing him back against the other wall, and he was going to continue the attack, but was stopped when the strange man simply grabbed him by the ripped shirt, and tossed him backwards. Ethan flew several feet backwards before crashing to the grated floor, and he didn't even have a chance to get back up before Jack was able to rip the knife out of his eye.

"All right, that tears it." The strange man said angrily, snapping the knife in half and dropping the pieces down through the grating. "You go and give someone a fair fight, and then what do they do? They go _stabbin'_ you in the eye, first chance they get. But that's fine, son… you like to play with blades… good… me, too."

Ethan had expected him to attack again, but instead Jack walked away from him, toward another part of the cage, where a chain-link fence sectioned off another small area before the barred wall. Ethan had seen this earlier, but hadn't paid it much attention… at least not until the strange man ripped away the chain-link fence, and picked up something that was hanging on the back wall. That thing was a _chainsaw_ … a very _large_ , industrial chainsaw, much larger than the one that Mia had used on Travis in the other house.

" _Groovy_." Jack said, pulling the starter, and revving the engine. "What you gonna do _now_ , city-boy?"

Now, Ethan was in real trouble, since he doubted that anyone was about to come to his rescue like Travis had done before. Looking around desperately for something he could defend himself with, the only thing he saw were the hanging chains with human meat… but it was better than nothing. So he grabbed a hanging leg, and swung it at the strange man, with his chainsaw easily slicing through both the leg _and_ the chain with a quick shower of sparks.

The only thing he could do was swing more meat at him, so Ethan grabbed chain after chain, and more sparks flew as Jack sliced each one down while… laughing about it. However, the next time that the chainsaw was used, the chain seemed to get caught in the blade, bringing the whole thing to a halt and stalling the motor. The strange man cursed at the weapon, pulling on it until freeing it from the chain, but as he started pulling on the starter to get it working again, he seemed to forget all about Ethan.

This was probably his only chance to save himself, since he was dead if Jack got the saw working again, so he circled around behind the strange man, and ran forward, slamming his shoulder into Jack's lower back just as he got the chainsaw working again. This caused the strange man to stumble forward into the barred wall, but the fully revving saw made contact with it first, bringing the blade up, and making Jack scream as it sunk right into his face.

Blood and flesh sprayed across the bars as the strange man tried to remove the blade, but Ethan just rammed into his back again… and again, each time driving the saw further into his face. Eventually, Jack was able to turn around, where he let go of the saw's trigger, but Ethan wasn't about to let his chance at survival slip away. He grabbed onto the saw's base while the strange man was trying to pull out the blade, and squeezed the trigger, causing more blood and flesh to spray all over them both.

Jack screamed as his hands were torn to shreds, leaving him unable to defend himself while Ethan drove the blade further into his skull, cutting it vertically in half, before continuing down into the strange man's torso. A couple times it seemed like the chainsaw was going to stall out, but it kept going, and Ethan kept pressing until the saw blade exited the body between the strange man's legs… leaving Jack completely cut in half, and more importantly no longer moving as each half fell to the floor.

Breathing heavily, and his arms starting to go numb from the effort of what he had just done, the chainsaw fell out of Ethan's now shaking hands, where it rattled on the grated floor for a couple seconds before finally stalling out. His knees were shaking as well, and now he was starting to feel each of the hits that he had taken during the fight with Jack, leaving Ethan feeling weak and sore as he slowly sunk to his knees. But even with as bad of shape that he was in, he was still alive… he had beaten Jack Baker… and this time his enemy didn't seem to be getting up.

"Stay… fucking… dead." Ethan said between breaths.


	15. Chapter 15 Leaving the House

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Leaving the House**

Adrenaline was a funny thing, Ethan thought as he remained where he was, kneeling on the grated floor of the slaughterhouse. It had given him the strength and ability needed to survive against a man who had successfully killed… he couldn't even _guess_ how many people, but now that the excitement was over, the lifesaving chemical had abandoned him. He had the key, and would be able to leave the Baker house, but reaching the door, or even getting up for that matter, was out of the question.

Suddenly a loud rattling sound caught his attention, and he looked toward the locked door of the cage, to see Zoe standing on the other side. Like he had done, she was pulling on the door in an attempt to open it, and Ethan was about to tell her that it was locked, when the thing opened. Apparently, instead of being locked, the cage door was simply stuck, and not realizing this before made him feel stupid… not that he would have had time to force it open during the fight with Jack.

"Ethan, are you all right?!" She exclaimed once inside the cage. "I couldn't find the basement key, then Lucas said daddy went and tossed you down here, and… oh, my God… daddy?"

The short-haired woman had been almost all the way to him, when her eyes moved down to where both halves of the strange man had fallen, and Ethan should've expected her reaction. No matter what he had become, Jack was still her father, and as Zoe stood there, taking in every detail of what happened; the chainsaw, her father cut in half, and Ethan blood-soaked… some tears started to run down her cheeks as she put her hands over her nose and mouth.

"I'm sorry." Ethan panted, still catching his breath. "Zoe, I'm sorry… your father, he… tried to kill me… he just wouldn't stop."

"I know." Zoe replied sharply, wiping her eyes as she turned away. "I _seen_ what he done to the others in here, and I know what he was plannin' on doin' to _you_ , but… I always hoped… I wanted to save him… him, mama, and even Lucas, but…

She stopped talking, instead just wiping her eyes on her arm, before smacking one of the wall's bars with her hand hard enough to make the sound echo throughout the slaughterhouse. Ethan already knew that Zoe had to be a really strong woman in order to deal with what had happened to her family, but he didn't imagine that she would be able to stop crying over her father, now turning her attention back to him… well, not directly to him, but to an aluminum hook on the wall just outside the cage, which held a long garden hose.

"We gotta get outa here." The short-haired woman said, uncoiling the hose and bringing it into the cage. "But first I gotta see how bad daddy hurt you, so hold still, Ethan."

Zoe aimed the hose at him and opened the valve before he could make any kind of protest, and Ethan found himself being assaulted by a strong stream of really cold water. It made sense for them to have a hose down there, since the blood on the grating needed to be washed away even back when the slaughterhouse had been, _hopefully_ , used only on animals, but that didn't make him feel any better as the water put him off balance enough to make him fall over onto his side.

"I said _hold still_ , Ethan." She continued, still spraying as she moved around him. "I gotta get all that blood off you so I can make sure you ain't got nothin' broken."

This improvised shower only lasted a couple more seconds, and then Zoe dropped the hose in order to take a look at him. She helped him sit up, and took her time checking out every spot on his body that had been cut by that monster or struck by Jack, making Ethan groan in pain since she had to use a lot of pressure. The good news was that nothing seemed to be broken, although the hits to his face were starting to swell, but he still felt like he was going to die as the short-haired woman helped him to his feet.

"I met Eveline." Ethan found himself saying as she helped him walk out of the cage. "She kept offering me a gift, but I refused."

"Good… unless you wanna end up like mama and daddy." She explained. "She don't _need_ you to accept it to infect you, now, but most who refuse end up dead, or… worse."

He understood what she meant by worse, having seen that awful creature in the morgue first-hand, but this brought up more questions as well. His first one was why Mia was different from Jack and Marguerite, since instead of being insane all the time, his wife seemed to go in and out, sort of like a _Jekyll and Hyde_ thing. To be fair, he had seen both Jack and Marguerite act civil at times, but Mia was just… different. His other question pertained to Zoe, herself, and why she didn't appear to have any of the symptoms that the others shared, even though she claimed to be infected.

"I think Mia was already infected when daddy found her." The short-haired woman explained as they moved through the moldy boiler room. "She jus' kept fightin' Eveline, but instead of killin' her like she did the others, Eveline was _real_ careful with her… like she _truly_ cared for Mia, but I'm not sure. As for me… I tried to study the infection best' I could, and I made some notes, and did some tests, but this ain't exactly ideal lab conditions out here."

Zoe went on to explain that as far as she could tell, once the mold, or whatever it was that Eveline used to control people, infected a person, it gave them the same incredible regenerative powers that Jack possessed. However, it seemed that every time the mold healed them, the infection was intensified, and Eveline's hold on them became stronger until there was almost no hope at all of coming back. Jack, Marguerite, and Lucas were prone to violence, mutilating themselves and others almost constantly over the past three years, but Zoe, herself, had never been prone to violence, potentially explaining why her condition was less advanced than everyone else's… including Mia's.

"It's amazing that you figured all this out on your own, Zoe." Ethan said, leaning on her more heavily as they neared the stairs. "Hell, you almost sound like a _scientist_."

"I _am_ a scientist, you _weed_." She replied, shooting him a harsh look. "I'll have you know, _city-boy_ , that I got me a _Masters_ in _Biology and Chemistry_ from _LSU_ … daddy worked real hard so I could go to school. I was home on break fore' startin' my _Doctorate_ when the storms came, and… I already went an' told you the rest."

Naturally Ethan tried to apologize for unintentionally offending her, but Zoe replied that there was no need. After all, the first impression of her family didn't exactly come across as intelligent, or even _civilized_ , for that matter, so there was no reason for him to expect that she was anything besides what the rest of them had become. Trying to lighten the mood as they struggled up the stairs, he suggested that maybe she could go back to college once they escaped from this nightmare, and Ethan was in the middle of telling her that he had barely been able to finish his _Bachelors_ , when she suddenly clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Zoe!" Marguerite's voice yelled as her shadow appeared on the wall. "Zoe, where you at, girl?! I can't find your daddy!"

"I'm in the bathroom, mama!" She called back, muffling her words with her other hand. "Daddy took that city-boy down in the basement, so he's gonna be a while! An' can you have a talk with Lucas, mama?! I saw him draggin' Mia off again!"

Ethan tried to be as quiet as he could during their exchange, hoping that somehow the cackling woman didn't come around the corner. They were pretty well screwed if she did, since there was really nowhere to run, and Ethan was in no condition to fight… especially if she was anything like her husband.

"That little shitfuck!" Marguerite yelled, stomping away as her shadow got smaller on the wall. "Lucas! Lucas, you better not be molestin' Mia again, you hear me, boy?! Lord knows that girl's not right in the brain… answer me, Lucas!"

Once the path was clear, Zoe was no longer trying to be delicate with Ethan, instead nearly shoving him up the stairs, and rushing him back down the hallways toward the main hall of the house, where they had seen the locked door. He was all for hurrying, but the pain in his body made it so that instead of running, Ethan was locked in a constant battle to keep his balance, at least until they reached the end of the hall.

She asked him where the key was, and after telling her that it was in his front pocket, Ethan was going to take it out, but was beaten to it when Zoe shoved her own hand inside, nearly groping him as she took the key. This also left him off balance, so much that he had to lean on one of the support pillars when she let go of him to open the door, and thankfully the key fit into the lock. Keeping careful watch for the other Bakers while Zoe unlocked the door with a heavy click, Ethan kept expecting them to attack, but nothing happened as the short-haired woman opened the door.

This was it, Ethan thought as he leaned on Zoe again, now they were going outside, where they could walk to town, no matter how far it was, and get help. Of course, there was the matter of Zoe's previous statement that anyone who was infected couldn't leave the property without dying, and this confused him until he realized that they were not walking out into the same part of the property that he had seen earlier. There was an impassible fence, but instead of a long, open field, there was a small clearing that was surrounded by trees, which were sticking right up out of the swamp.

"Wait a second." He protested, looking around. "I thought we were escaping, Zoe… what is this, the _back yard_?"

Moving across the porch, and down some wooden stairs, Ethan saw in the moonlight that there were a couple other buildings scattered around the border of the clearing, including a _huge_ barn, a smaller house that looked mostly run down, and a tall building covered in plastic that looked like some kind of industrial greenhouse. The only other structure around was a small trailer-house that could be pulled behind a truck, and even though there were flickering lights coming from each building, Ethan hoped that she wasn't taking him to the trailer.

"I told you I'm infected and can't leave." Zoe continued, forcing him to keep up the pace. "But don't worry, Ethan… ain't no one gonna be findin' you in my trailer."


	16. Chapter 16 Zoe's Trailer

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Sixteen: Zoe's Trailer**

Expecting to find the trailer as broken down and molded as the rest of the Baker estate, Ethan found himself pleasantly surprised that was not the case, when Zoe opened the door. It was certainly lived in, since there were clothes and a small amount of clutter, such as empty beer bottles on the table, along with a large ashtray that was just about filled to the brim, probably what was causing the strong smell of cigarettes in the air.

Ethan had never smoked, nor did he enjoy being around people that did, but under the circumstances, the smell of tobacco was a _million_ times better than the blood and mold that permeated the basement of the main house, so he had no reason to complain. Other than that, however, the trailer was easily the cleanest and most well-kept area of the Bakers' property, and it was nice to be able to sit down on something comfortable when Zoe helped him over to the bed.

"Get your shirt off." She said, going over to the table and lighting up another cigarette. "We gotta get them cuts taken care of fore' they go getting' any worse."

Thanks to the cuts on his shoulder and chest, it was difficult for Ethan to remove what was left of his ripped up shirt, so Zoe came back and helped him, keeping the cigarette in her mouth so that smoke was blown in his face each time she breathed out her nose, making him cough. The short-haired woman snickered a bit at his reaction, and once his shirt was off, she moved away, giving him a break from the smoke while she went over to the refrigerator to retrieve another jar of that strange green liquid he had seen before.

"Okay, you _sissy_ , I'm puttin' it out." She said, twisting the cigarette down into the ashtray before coming back over to him. "You'd think after what _you_ been through, you could handle me breathin' a little smoke in your face."

"Sorry, I've just never been a smoker." Ethan replied, wincing when she sprinkled some of the green liquid onto his shoulder. "I mean, I don't judge people who _do_ smoke, or anything, but…

Suddenly his words became an outcry of pain when the short-haired woman put a large amount of the green liquid onto his chest, and it burned so much as she spread it around with her hand, that he found himself grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. As it had done before, the pain started to fade a few seconds later, allowing Ethan to relax, but only until Zoe put some of it into her hand in order to rub on his face.

As much as he hated this stuff, it really seemed to work, dulling the pain and starting to close up his cuts even before the short-haired woman put bandages on them. The bandages were just strips of cloth that she got from ripping up what was left of Ethan's shirt, and even the swelling on his face had gone down by the time that she had finished everything else. Again, trying to relax now that the worst of it was over, he instead gasped and covered his mouth when Zoe tried to bring the jar up to his lips.

"No!" He said louder than intended as he pushed her arm away. "I'm good, Zoe, I feel a whole lot better now, so we can probably just skip this part, and you know… save what you have left for later."

"Not a chance, Ethan." Zoe replied, trying again to get him to drink. "Daddy was in there whoopin' on you real good, and you might've gone and got yourself some hurtin' on the _inside_ , too. Now, you be a good boy and take your remedy, or I'm gonna pin you down like you was a _hog_ , and jus' pour it down your throat."

Pushing it away from his mouth again, Ethan thought he had won when the short-haired woman set the jug down on a nearby dresser, so he was taken completely by surprise when she shoved him down onto the bed. After going up against Jack, fighting off a much smaller person like Zoe should have been easy, but the lingering fatigue in his arms didn't agree with this assumption. Before he knew it, Zoe had climbed up on top of him, straddling his waist in order to pin his forearms down with her knees, and simply holding him there while reaching over to grab the jar from the dresser.

"You let me know when you're done _floppin'_ around, city-boy." She said with a smirk as he flailed around underneath her. "Now, you got yourself a choice, here… you can either open your mouth and drink… or I'm gonna force it."

He tried to throw her off again, but it was just no use, at least not in his current condition, leaving Ethan no choice but to open his mouth. Once he did, Zoe poured some of the medicine, probably a bit more than needed, and the burning sensation came back once he swallowed it. He would never admit this, but the short-haired woman had been right about his insides; a strong feeling of relief washing over him once the burning stopped, and then, finally, he was able to relax when Zoe put the top back on the jar, leaning over to put it away, but not moving off of him.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked taking another cigarette out of her pocket and lighting it. "I gotta ask you somethin', though, Ethan… now, you been puttin' yourself through _hell_ for Mia, as I'm guessin' any _good_ husband would, but… like I said before, we found Mia and Eveline at jus' bout' the same time three years ago… and if ya'lls from Texas, then what the hell was she doin' all the way out here in the bayou?"

"I don't know, Zoe." Ethan replied, turning his head and holding his breath for a second when she blew smoke in his face. "I asked her when I found her in that cage in the other house, but she didn't seem to remember anything about it. The last thing I heard from her, though, was a video message saying that she was coming home after finishing some kind of babysitting job, but that wasn't supposed to be anywhere _near_ here."

Zoe was silent for a minute, as if thinking about what he had said, but then she took another drag of her cigarette, leaned forward, and blew all of it right in his face so that he couldn't get away from it no matter which way he turned his head. It was also harder to hold his breath, since Zoe was sitting on his waist, so Ethan ended up coughing like a teenager who had tried his first puff… a fact that seemed to amuse her to no end.

"That was for fightin' me." She said, sitting back up as he coughed more. "Now, you're sayin' that Mia was supposed to be _babysittin'_ when you lost her? That's funny, cause' there was only _one_ child found with her… and if she was watchin' _Eveline_ , I hope her fee was the damn _Publisher's Clearin' House_."

"I know, it doesn't make any sense." He answered, trying to blow what was left of her smoke away. "Something else must've happened, because Eveline… someone like her, with what she can do… she would've been locked up in some kind of laboratory, or…

Just then Ethan remembered something about his first encounter with Eveline… when the little girl had gotten angry, and told him not to look at her like the _doctors_ did. He hadn't thought anything about it at the time, but had Eveline once been in some kind of laboratory? And if so, how on Earth did she ever get into the Louisiana bayou, washed up onto the Baker's property… and along with Mia? Where did Mia even fit in? Damn it, what the hell was his wife _doing_ all the way out there in the middle of nowhere?

The most frustrating part about this whole thing was that every time Ethan learned something about what was going on, it just brought up even more questions. Even managing to escape from the main house, which he had thought was the end, just left him stuck… but now that Jack was gone… and Zoe's strange green medicine had worked its magic… he found himself starting to get… sleepy. It made sense, given that the first part of the day had been spent driving, and the second part involved homicide, torture, and more injuries than he had taken during the rest of his life combined.

"Yeah, I figured you'd be all tuckered out by now." The short-haired woman said, swinging her leg around so that she was now sitting next to him. "We should be safe in here; Eveline don't come round' cause' she hates cigarettes bout' as much as you do, and the others… I think they jus' done forgot it's here. When I was eighteen I wanted to move out, and aside from goin' away to school, right here's as far as I got."

"Hey… it's better than your parent's place." Ethan laughed a little, pulling his feet up onto the bed while fighting to stay awake. "I'm sorry, Zoe… I can't stay awake… just don't leave me alone, okay? Just… stay with me, all right?"

He couldn't quite understand what she was saying in response, but he hoped that she was promising to stay with him. He _was_ aware of her getting a blanket out of a nearby cupboard and spreading it across him, before taking something out from behind the bathroom door. He had to blink a couple times to get her back into focus, but once his eyes were working again, Ethan realized that it was a shotgun, and that Zoe was loading shells into it.

Struggling to stay awake long enough to move into a more comfortable position, his first thought was how nice it would have been to have the shotgun before… not that he was going to complain about it now. It also appeared that Zoe was going to stand guard while he rested, setting the shotgun on top of the bed's headboard before sitting down next to him on the mattress. About that time, however, fatigue finally got the better of him, forcing Ethan's eyes to close one more time… and for him to begin snoring.


	17. Chapter 17 A New Plan

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Seventeen: A New Plan**

Never before had Ethan fallen asleep so quickly, and his dreams were a collage of recent traumatic events, mostly flashes of Travis and Anderson's deaths, as well as his fight against Jack Baker, but not _all_ of the memories were bad. There were also flashes of what life had been like before all of this insanity… before Mia had disappeared. Back then they had been happy, and Ethan never _could_ understand how he could be lucky enough to get a girl like her. Yes, it had gotten lonely whenever his wife had to leave the state for her jobs… which she never really talked about for some reason… but still they had been happy when she was home.

These pleasant dreams were interrupted by a quick flash of when she had tried to cut his arm off with a chainsaw, but then there was another flash, this one causing him to open his eyes… well, sort of. Everything was blurry, and the fatigue was still there, making it hard to really seen anything at all, or even tell if he was really awake. Ethan could hear the rumble of distant thunder, along with heavy rain falling on the roof, and the bed he was lying in was so comfortable, that it could have been his own.

Was that it? Was he still in Texas? Has all this nonsense about the Bakers and coming to Louisiana been a dream? Struggling again to open his eyes, he saw the blurry figure of a slender woman lying next to him, and she was snoring in a manner that wasn't exactly ladylike… just like Mia used to do. That had to be it, he thought after briefly falling asleep again. Everything that happened over the last three years must've been a horrible dream, and now he was home, and so was Mia. This thought made him so happy that he reached over and gently pulled her over to him, causing her to kind of snort and clear her throat before cuddling into his chest.

It was still dark outside as far as he could tell, so he kissed Mia on the forehead, before allowing himself to fall asleep again, and the next time Ethan's eyes opened, there was light coming in through the window. The light was orange, meaning that the sun was just coming up, and the rain was still falling just as hard as it had been… probably a good day to stay in bed, he thought as he leaned his head forward to give his wife a kiss. Mia was still asleep, and only half responded, which he thought was adorable. So he kissed her again, and this time there was a lot more response.

"Good morning." He whispered after the kiss broke. "Did you know you're the best kisser in the world?"

"That's real sweet of you to say, Ethan." Mia whispered back in a strangely southern accent. "You ain't so bad, yourself."

Something was wrong here… _really_ wrong… so he let go of her enough to rub his eyes, and the next time Ethan blinked, the blurry image of Mia faded away, replaced by the much shorter-haired Zoe Baker. This startling revelation caused him to quickly sit up, still rubbing his eyes as he looked around the room, and causing the dream of his own place to fade away… replaced by the trailer. This meant that everything that had happened yesterday had been real… Travis was dead, that cop was dead, Mia was… wherever the hell she had been taken… and now he started to blush as he realized what he had just done.

"Zoe, I'm sorry… I didn't… I mean, I wasn't…" Ethan stammered, trying to explain himself as his face turned redder. "I thought I was… and you were… and this place was…

He could feel himself blushing more and more as his words devolved into him sounding like when _Courage the Cowardly Dog_ tried to explain something to his owners, and this feeling of embarrassment wasn't helped by the fact that Zoe was in just her pants and bra… and he was shirtless, himself. Suddenly the short-haired woman reached over and put her hand underneath his chin, pushing upward so that his mouth was forced to close, and then she took a cigarette out of her pack.

"Ethan, will you shut up a second?" She asked, lighting the cigarette and taking a drag. "Look, I spent _six years_ at LSU, so I seen _plenty_ of folks wakin' up with someone they maybe wasn't plannin' to, but I ain't mad, okay? Tell the truth, was actually kinda nice… been a good long stretch since a man held me like that, and besides… you smell kinda nice."

"Wait a second." Ethan replied, finding his words as she grabbed her shirt off the dresser. "You saw that I was out of it, but you just… _let_ me get all handsy with you… even though you _knew_ I was married?"

Zoe scoffed at this remark, shaking her head a little as she put her shirt on, and then getting out of the bed. She walked over to the table to grab a much larger shirt that was folded up, dropped it into Ethan's lap when she got back, and then slapped him in the mouth. This caught him completely off guard, making him turn his head completely to the side, and then she slapped him a second time, doubling the sting.

"That's for tryin' to _slut-shame_ me, city-boy." She scolded, taking the cigarette out of her mouth and pointing it at him. " _I'm_ single, _you're_ the one over here tryin' to cheat on your wife; pouncin' me like you was a damn _cougar_ … now get dressed, we got lots to do today… that's one of daddy's old shirts, but it should fit you jus' fine."

Not wanting to anger her any further, and confused by how quickly Zoe's emotions shifted, Ethan unfolded the shirt to discover that she wasn't kidding when she said it was _old_. It was a faded gray color with a large black and white photo of _Peter Frampton_ on stage with the caption _Frampton Comes Alive 86'_ across the top. Honestly, Jack hadn't struck him as the kind of person to listen to that sort of music.

"Looks good on you, Ethan." The short-haired woman commented. "Now, if you can _control yourself_ round' me for a minute, I got me an idea to get us out of this mess. When them storms was goin' on, there was lots of stuff washin' up in the bayou, and there was the box; a large green box, and Eveline was quick in havin' mama hide it somewhere in the old house, down near the water."

Zoe went on to explain that although she didn't know exactly what was inside the box, she had heard Mia ranting a couple times about some kind of medicine or serum kept in a case like that, but nothing else. Eveline had always been pretty quick about having Lucas put her back in the cage, especially when she started talking in ways that made sense. The problem was that Zoe couldn't risk Eveline finding out that she was looking for it, and apparently out of all the Bakers' victims, Ethan was the only person who had managed to get out of the main house alive.

"The old house ain't very big." She continued, sitting back down on the bed with him. "And mama's been waitin' in the main house all night for daddy to come outa the cellar, so hopefully you'll be able to find it and bring it on back here fore' she even heads back that way."

"Well, sounds better than going at it with Jack." Ethan replied, his eyes turning to the shotgun that was sitting on the headboard. "But I should probably take _that_ with me just in case."

Zoe didn't hesitate in picking up the weapon and passing it to him, but she couldn't help but snicker a bit when it came to how awkwardly he was holding it. Honestly, he had never even held such a firearm before, but since he had quickly learned how to use a police pistol, he figured that the concept had to be something pretty similar. Turns out that holding a shotgun was nothing even close to the pistol, and eventually the short-haired woman took it back from him.

"Christ on a cross, city-boy." She said, holding the weapon on her lap. "Didn't your daddy never even teach you how to use a shotgun? Ain't you from Texas?"

"Yes, I'm from Texas." He answered, feeling embarrassed again. "But like you're so _fond_ of pointing out, I'm from the _city_ , Zoe. Guns were just never needed at, well… any point in my life… until yesterday."

Sighing in disappointment and shaking her head, Zoe began giving him a quick course in how to handle what she referred to as an _M37 Pump_. She showed him how to load it, how many shells could fit inside, where the safety was, how to cock it, and Ethan even managed to hold it properly… after a couple awkward attempts.

"Now remember, it kicks harder than your pistol did." She continued, correcting his stance a little. "You also gotta be real close, but whatever you go shootin' with this thing's gonna have a _real_ bad day. That don't mean I want you goin' off and fightin' if you don't have to, okay? You see Lucas or mama, you hide or you run… and don't go stayin' in the old house any longer than you got to."

Well, that covered just about everything, and after a little bit more practice to make sure he was comfortable with the shotgun, it was time to go. According to Zoe, he could get to the old house by going around the trailer, and heading down a short path that would take him real close to the water, and he was just about to walk out the door, when the short-haired woman completely stopped his thoughts by giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Ethan asked, feeling his cheeks turn red again.

"For luck." Zoe answered, laughing a little. "You're also _real_ cute when you blush, so I wanted to see it again. I'm gonna go back to the house and distract mama best I can… try to hurry, Ethan."

Sliding past him, she went out the door, putting her arms above her head in an attempt to block the rain. Ethan found himself laughing a little as well, watching her run back across the yard, before heading out the door, himself. It felt like it was raining even harder now than before, but at least this time he was going to have enough daylight to see what was going on around him.


	18. Chapter 18 The Old House

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Eighteen: The Old House**

As awkward and embarrassing as the situation with Zoe had been, Ethan found that it had also managed to take his mind off of all the horrible things happening around him, at least for a little while. So instead of worrying if Lucas or Marguerite were going to leap out of the bushes at him on the way to the old house, he found himself thinking about when he had been holding Zoe, and how nice it had been to kiss her. After all, the short-haired woman hadn't been the _only_ one to go for a long time without getting that kind of attention from another person.

Ethan had been devastated when Mia vanished three years ago, but he had never stopped hoping to find her one day, nor had he ever even _considered_ trying to find someone else to spend his life with. Of course now Mia was back, and even in her volatile condition, she was still his wife, no matter what. This didn't mean, however, that he was going to leave Zoe behind; no, his plan to escape from Eveline and the Bakers included all _three_ of them, but no one was going to escape anything if he couldn't get his mind off of the image of Zoe sitting there in her bra.

Shaking his head to try and get back his focus, he continued down the path that had been located around behind the trailer, only to have all the dread from last night return as another building came into view. It was right on the waters of the bayou, just like Zoe said it was, and as hard to believe as it was, this place seemed to be even more run down and neglected than the main house had been. From there, he could see that there were large holes in the moss-covered roof, along with a few boards missing from the walls, and an entire far side of the building that just seemed to have… fallen off into the shallow water.

"This place just gets better, and better." Ethan grumbled to himself. "With my luck the green case was in the part that collapsed."

The good news was that the morning sun gave him plenty of light to see with as he reached the rickety old door, and for once there was even better news when he couldn't see or hear anyone else in the house. Not that anyone would ever _want_ to enter this place, with water pouring down from the roof, and a large portion of the floor missing, revealing that over half the house had been built on stilts over the water.

There were a few pieces of furniture lying around, although not surprisingly waterlogged from exposure, and there were a couple doors in front of him, any of which could take him to where Marguerite had hidden Mia's mysterious case. There was also another door on the far side of the house, appearing to give access to a second floor, but it was beyond where the floor of the house had collapsed. There was room to walk across, but it was along the north-most wall, and looked like it could only be reached by going around to another door that was located somewhere in the rooms in front of him.

It looked like there was no choice but to begin what was probably going to be a long, difficult exploration of the old house, so he went up to the nearest door, and put his ear up against it. Aside from more water coming in through the roof, he couldn't hear anything at all, so Ethan turned the knob and slowly opened the door, finding himself inside of what might have once been an old living room. There was a brick fireplace against the wall, and a broken down old bookcase in the corner… but the strangest thing was the… now what in the hell was it?

There was some kind of huge mass built up in the center of the room, hanging from one of the more solid parts of the ceiling. It was a kind of discolored purplish-brown, had what looked like a slimy texture, although that could have been from the dripping water, and there were holes… _dozens_ of small holes spread across the surface, reminding him of some kind of beehive, or other kind of insect nest… although he had never seen one so big before.

For a second he thought he saw movement inside one of the holes, but it might have been his imagination. Either that, or the rain was keeping whatever occupied the nest from coming out. Ethan was thankful for this as he very carefully passed through the room, since with everything else going on, the last thing he needed was to get a swarm of angry swamp insects. There was some more movement in the other holes, maybe in reaction to his presence, but each was deterred by the dripping water, allowing him to reach the door on the opposite wall, and enter the next room without incident.

Closing the door behind him so that _whatever_ was inside the nest couldn't follow him once it came out, Ethan now found himself inside of a run-down old kitchen. The cabinets and wooden furniture were in relatively good condition, aside from the moss growing out of them, and it looked like there was some mold growing its way out of the heavily dented refrigerator door. This didn't matter much, since he had no intention of opening it, and now Ethan had to choose between three new doors.

The one in front was open, barely hanging onto its last hinge, and leading to literally nothing. All he could see beyond it was swamp, meaning that it must've led to the part of the house that completely collapsed. No point in exploring that one, so he looked at the others; a rotting wooden one off to the left, and a much different kind off to the right. The one off to the right looked a lot newer, and logically that meant that this part of the house was still used. Maybe this was where Marguerite had hidden the case, or maybe if he was _really_ lucky… it would be where Mia was being held.

He couldn't risk the possibility of his wife being down there, and him looking around somewhere else, so Ethan walked over to the door and pulled it open, and saw not only a short, downward staircase, but also the startling revelation that this part of the old house still had power. Like in the other cellar, there was a single, hanging bulb that lit up the staircase, and he could also see the bottom, meaning that there had to be more lights down there as well.

The stairs pointed back toward the main house, so there was no flooding when he walked down to the concrete floor below, and now he was at the beginning of a cinder block hallway. After a few meters it turned a corner, so Ethan followed it, but then had to stop when he rounded the corner to find that there was nothing there. In front of him was a solid wall with no visible way to go forward, so he turned around to go back, when a heavy gate dropped down from the ceiling, blocking his path.

The gate was barred like the main house windows, but also layered with the heavy grating from the slaughterhouse, leaving him with only tiny little holes to see beyond. Like anyone in his position would do, Ethan rushed to the gate and tried to lift it, but was unsuccessful. He then thought about trying to shoot his way through it, but stopped… after what Zoe had explained to him about the shotgun's shells, it seemed like the only thing to be damaged would be himself if he tried, but then he froze as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Well, I'll be God damned." A familiar voice laughed happily as the footsteps got closer. "Here I was startin' to think I built this big, laborate' trap for nothin', but I reckon patience really _is_ a virtue, huh? That you in there, Ethan? Daddy said only a _dumbfuck_ would go fallin' for it, so it _must_ be you, city-boy. How you doin' in there, buddy?"

It was Lucas, not that Ethan needed to peek through the tiny holes in order to recognize that irritating voice. The bald man seemed to be overly pleased with himself as well, grinning like an asshole, especially when he saw that Ethan was looking at him through the holes. He then started rattling on the door, making over-exaggerated cries for help, and moaning in despair in a way that was clearly supposed to be making fun of Ethan.

"Hey, buddy, I know what'll go and cheer you up." Lucas continued, moving away from the gate. "I got me a little surprise for you, so uh… don't you go nowhere, huh?"

Laughing to himself as he ran back up the stairs, Lucas vanished back up into the house, and Ethan started trying again to free himself before the bald man came back. This attempt was also unsuccessful, and before long Lucas came back down the stairs, but this time he wasn't alone. Mia was with him, her hands still cuffed behind her back as she was forced to come down the stairs. About halfway down, Lucas shoved her forward, causing Mia to his her head on the stairs before tumbling the rest of the way down.

"Mia!" Ethan yelled, hitting the gate. "Lucas, what the fuck?! Leave her the hell alone!"

"Leave her alone? Are you nuts?" The bald man asked, stepping on her when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Mia here's jus' bout' my favorite thing in the world… and I tell you, city-boy, after seein' you and Zoe wrestlin' around in bed last night through the window… I would've been left frustrated somethin' _fierce_ if your wife hadn't been there to uh… _comfort_ me."

Laughing again as Ethan banged on the gate, Lucas walked back over to Mia and grabbed her by the hair, making sure to grope on her as much as possible until she was back on her feet. Even though Jack had been trying to kill him during their confrontation, Ethan hadn't really harbored any personal hatred for the man, especially since finding out that the strange man was just another one of Eveline's victims. Lucas, however, was a different story… never in his life had Ethan wanted to kill a man just for the pleasure of it, but as the bald man stood there groping on Mia, and making cracks about things like _'liking the handcuffs cause' they stopped her from hittin' and scratchin' him'_ …

"I jus' don't understand you, Ethan." Lucas continued, shoving Mia into the wall. "Mia here's bout' a hundred _times_ purdyer than stupid ol' Zoe… but hey, you and me're good buddies, so I reckon we can trade. Oh, hey, and guess what, _buddy_ … I found that pistol you went and dropped down in the cellar."

Reaching behind his back, the bald man took out the lost police pistol, and Ethan was afraid that he was about to be shot… until Lucas pressed the barrel of the weapon into Mia's back. Ethan was in so much shock about what was going to happen, that he couldn't even scream as the trigger was pulled, filling the corridor with an echoing bang-bang-bang. Some blood was splashed on the wall as the bullets tore through his wife, and Ethan was finally able to scream in rage as Mia fell, gasping and bleeding, to the floor.

"Oh, quit bein' such a drama queen, Ethan." Lucas continued, putting the pistol back. "Mia's part of the family; Eveline's gift'll bring her right on back… no matter how many times I go hurtin' her. See, Eveline says hurtin' someone brings'em closer to us, so if I keep on abusin' your wife like I been… why, she'll be right as rain in no time. So, you think bout' that down here while I take Mia and… _see to her_. Oh, and by _seein'_ to her, I mean I'm bout' to go fuck your wife again… jus' in case you was confused. Bye, bye, city-boy."

"Lucas!" Ethan yelled, throwing himself at the gate as the bald man picked up Mia before carrying her back up the stairs. "Lucas, God damn it, leave Mia alone! Lucas, I'll kill you, you son of a bitch! Lucas! Lucas!"


	19. Chapter 19 Leftover Supper

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Nineteen: Leftover Supper**

Try as he might, Ethan just couldn't get out of the trap, so he was forced to just stand there like an idiot while Lucas carried Mia off to… who knows where? The gate was too heavy for him to lift on his own, and as the minutes ticked by, he very thoroughly searched the containment area for a hidden switch or some kind of release lever… but found none. As much as he hated Lucas Baker, Ethan had to admit that he had constructed a pretty damn good trap, so there he stood for several more minutes, until something made a loud metallic _click_.

His first thought was that spikes were about to drop down from the ceiling or something, but instead the gate slowly started to rise. Whether or not this was another part of Lucas's trickery, Ethan knew that he had to get Mia out of his hands no matter what, so he ducked under the gate as soon as it was high enough, and readied his shotgun as he ran back up the stairs. Shoving the door all the way open, and looking around to see where the bald man had run off to, his thoughts were stopped when the door was slammed back right into his face.

The wind was knocked out of him as he was caught in the doorframe, and then the door slammed into him again, this time causing the shotgun to fall out of his hands. The doorknob had struck him in the stomach each time, forcing Ethan to bend forward when he was finally allowed to stumble out of the doorway, back into the kitchen. He pretty much fell against the old, moss-covered counter, but there was no time to catch his breath when he looked up just in time to see something metal swinging down at his head.

There was a resounding _clang_ as the object struck him in the side of the head, causing him to slide down to the floor, but then the identity of his attacker was revealed when the powerful hand of Marguerite Baker grabbed him by the shirt. With almost no effort at all, the cackling woman pulled him to his feet, and then Ethan was able to see that the metal object was an unlit lantern that she carried in her other hand… which she was now swinging at him again like it was a _mace ball_.

Thankfully it wasn't a mace, but there was still a lot of pain when the lantern struck him in the upper back hard enough to knock him on his face, and then again on the center of his back when he tried to get up again. The only nice thing about this was that it wasn't Lucas attacking him, so Ethan was pretty sure that he wasn't about to get shot, being that the cackling woman was completely ignoring the fallen shotgun… however, this didn't seem to matter much the next time she pulled him to his feet.

"Well, lookey what we got here!" Marguerite yelled, holding up the lantern at his face as if it were lit. "Jack an' me been lookin' all night for you, boy! It ain't right, you leavin' the supper table fore' the meal's over… so get your _stupid lookin' ass_ over here!"

Suddenly pulling him across the kitchen, Ethan stumbled to keep up with the cackling woman as she moved him over to the nearest of the other doors that he had seen earlier. She pulled the rotting wood door open, and continued dragging him into what looked like a small dining room, where the only remaining furniture was a half broken table, along with a single, moss-covered chair. Letting go of him, Marguerite struck him with the lantern again, this time hitting Ethan in the side so that he fell right into the chair, and before he knew what was happening, she pinned his left wrist down onto the table.

"I got you now, you little _shitfuck_!" The cackling woman yelled, locking his wrist into some kind of clamp that had been bolted right to the table. "You don't go runnin' off in the middle of supper! It's _rude_! When good people like us open up our home to you, least you can do is act like you got you some fuckin' _manners_! Manners, you son of a bitch! _Manners_!"

As if this situation weren't scary enough, Marguerite suddenly started coughing violently just as she was starting to yell something else at him. She heaved and wretched as if she were going to vomit, but instead of losing her lunch, she doubled over and started to spew out… _insects?!_ Yes, it was a cloud of huge, flying insects that were now pouring out of her mouth, making Ethan scream in terror, followed by pain when they started to sting him.

He tried to swat at them, but they were so large that his free arm did nothing more than knock a few of them off course for a second, but the worst part was their stingers. Each stab felt like he was being clawed by a bear, but thankfully the water leaking in through the roof was enough to deter them a few seconds later. As the insects wings got wet, they started falling to the floor, and the others soon started flying for any cover that they could find.

"God damn this rain!" She yelled in frustration as she stomped back toward the door. "Now you keep on sittin' right there where you are, Ethan… and fuckin' _behave yourself_!"

With that, the cackling woman walked out of the dining room, slamming the wooden door behind her, and leaving Ethan alone. He wasn't exactly sure what the hell had just happened, but after seeing what she could do, he figured that he was in real trouble if he didn't get the hell out of there before Marguerite came back. She appeared to be just as strong as Jack, but with a swarm of insects waiting inside her… however the hell that was even _possible_ … right now the rain was probably the only thing saving his life.

She hadn't used a key to secure the bolt holding his wrist, so maybe he could get it open on his own, and Ethan was just starting to pull on what looked like the release, when he quickly had to stop when the door opened again. Marguerite was back, but she no longer looked angry… in fact, she was now _smiling_ ; carrying what looked like a food tray in her free hand. The cackling woman set it down on the table in front of him, letting him see that the tray held a spoon along with a bowl of… actually, he wasn't quite sure _what_ it was, but it smelled like mold and rotting meat.

"Don't worry, son, I ain't mad at you no more." She said, sliding the tray toward him. "You been misbehavin' cause' you skipped out on supper, but I been dealin' with unruly youngins for a good spell now, so I gone ahead and saved you some. Now, I ain't supposed to say nothin', but Eveline seems to like you; wants you to be part of the family, like Mia… but if you wanna _be_ a Baker… well, then you gotta _eat_ like a Baker… every _last_ bit… _now_."

"Well… this looks… great, Marguerite." Ethan replied, trying to humor her while looking away from the plate. "You've uh, really outdone yourself, but… could I have a, uh… a drink? Yeah, that's it… can I have a drink to go along with it? You uh… wouldn't want me to choke, right?"

The cackling woman just stared at him, and yes, he was completely aware of how lame of an attempt it had been to get her to leave again. Asking for a drink was the only thing that he could think of, and Ethan was worried that she was about to puke out more insects, but instead Marguerite just smiled. Walking away without another word, Ethan couldn't believe that his attempt had actually worked, but she would be back soon, so he went right back to work on the clamp.

Having already found the release last time, it only took a couple seconds for him to get free… but now what was he going to do about her when she came back. There was nowhere to hide, and only one way out… that, and he was unarmed, except for the spoon. It was a long metal soup spoon that was so dull it probably couldn't even cut through butter… but then again, it was wide enough so that maybe it had _another_ use. Either way, the time for planning was over, and he had just enough time to make it look like his wrist was still restrained, before the cackling woman walked back into the room.

"Here you go, Ethan." She said politely, carrying in a cup of dark, foul-smelling liquid and setting it down in front of him. "Now, you be good an' eat up your supper… then you'll be one of us, and you can go out and play."

Picking up the spoon, and slowly scooping out some of… _whatever_ the hell was on the plate, Ethan made it look like he was going to take a bite, but instead shot out his arm toward _her_. As he had planned, the spoon went right into her surprised mouth, and now that his arm was free, Ethan could jump out of the chair; shoving the cackling woman backwards until she was up against the wall, and forcing the spoon as far down her throat as it would go.

Eventually, she just shoved him backwards like Jack had done, but instead of attacking him right away, Marguerite was completely focused on removing the spoon, probably so that she could puke up another insect swarm. Fortunately, Ethan had fallen on the floor right next to his chair, so he got to his feet, picked up the chair as high as he could, and then shattered it when he brought it down onto the cackling woman's head.

Marguerite collapsed to the floor, but if she was anything like her husband, Ethan knew that she wouldn't stay down for long. So he ran out of the room, nearly forgetting to grab the fallen shotgun, but coming back and picking it up off the floor… just in time to hear the cackling woman scream in rage while the now dislodged spoon was heard falling onto the floor. There was only one door left to try, so he pulled it open, and ran down the hallway beyond, still hearing Marguerite's cursing even after reaching a door at the far end.

"Get back here, you Goddamn fucktard!" She screamed as he ducked through the door. "You're gonna eat your damn supper, or I'm gonna cram it all down your fuckin' throat!"

Closing the door behind him, and intending to run for the nearest hiding place, Ethan instead ran right into an old cabinet… which was the only thing that stopped him from running right over the edge of the collapsed floor. The cabinet fell into the water, making a loud _splash_ , and it was then that Ethan realized he was back in the first, wide-open room that he had seen after entering the old house. Sure, he now had a walkway to reach the door that led upstairs, but he doubted that he could reach it before Marguerite caught up to him… so instead of following the path, he moved backwards and hid behind where the door was going to open.

And it was a good thing that he moved when he did, because no sooner had he gotten into position, when the door flew open as a still enraged Marguerite ran through. She looked left and right, still holding up the unlit lantern as if it were somehow helping her see her surroundings, but thankfully she did not turn around. Instead, she seemed to calm down a little bit as she walked up to the edge of the collapsed floor.

"Aw, what happened, son?" She asked, laughing a little as she looked down into the water. "Did you go and fall down in there, Ethan? That's what happens when youngins go runnin' round' the house like little…

She might have had a lot more to say, but Ethan didn't give her the chance, since for once he had surprise on _his_ side. So while Marguerite talked to the water, he quietly crept up behind her, remembering that Zoe had told him that he had to be close, before aiming the barrel of the shotgun into the center of her back… and pulling the trigger.


	20. Chapter 20 Lost Lantern

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty: Lost Lantern**

The _bang_ that followed him pulling the trigger was several times louder than it had been with the pistol, and the amount of kick that came with it surprised Ethan to the point where he had to take a step backwards in order to keep his balance. However, while he was stepping back, Marguerite was crying out in surprise as she flew forward; her feet completely leaving the ground, and part of her back exploding as she was sent right over the edge.

Both the cackling woman, and the lantern she was carrying, hit the shallow water below with a hard _splash_ , but after having dealt with Jack, he knew that the conflict with her would not be resolved so easily. So deciding not to give Marguerite the chance to recover, Ethan walked to the edge of the floor, cocked the shotgun like Zoe had showed him, and fired another shell into the cackling woman as she flailed around in the water.

 _Chick-click-boom_ , _chick-click-boom_ , _chick-click-boom_ , Ethan fired shell after shell into her body, each one making her move a lot slower, until finally his shotgun was empty. What he had done seemed to be enough though, since the cackling woman was no longer moving, instead simply floating on the surface of the water while the slow moving current pushed her around with each low wave that came through.

It was nice to be in control for once, especially after being pushed around by Jack, Eveline, Marguerite, _and_ Lucas, so for the first time since arriving at the Baker estate… Ethan was left feeling good… as if there really was a chance for him to get out of this alive. Unfortunately, the assault on Marguerite had left his shotgun empty, so he was unarmed if there were any more surprises waiting for him in the rest of the house, so his moment of confidence was partially ruined.

Either way, Marguerite was down, and it seemed like the only part of the house left to explore was the upstairs, so he walked away from the floating cackling woman, and headed over to the final door. There was a short staircase leading up to it, and thankfully the door was unlocked, since he didn't want to have to search around for another key, like he had done in the main house. Taking another look back to make sure that Marguerite was still down before walking through, Ethan shut the door behind him, and now found himself at the beginning of a short hallway that opened up into a larger room.

There were even more holes in the roof on the second floor, letting in a lot more daylight, but also a lot more water. So much, in fact, that Ethan had to continually wipe it from his eyes as he made his way into the larger chamber at the end of the short hallway. It was another sitting room, sort of like the one that Zoe had used for them to briefly hide from Lucas, but with far less furniture. There was an old broken cabinet, a pile of wood that might have once been a chair, and a shelf near the only other door that had some kind of old scale on top of it.

However, there was no sign of the green case that Zoe had described, so Ethan moved on, walking up to the only other door and pushing it open… except it didn't open. In fact, it didn't even budge, or shake, or anything when he tried to force it. This was strange, since there didn't appear to be a knob, or visible lock… and it was then that he noticed how sturdy the door had been built. Whoever had reinforced the back door of the main house, had apparently worked on this one as well, since it looked just as sturdy, if not even more so, but he didn't see a keyhole, or anything else that would…

"Oh, no." Ethan whispered, taking a closer look at the old, metal scale. "You've got to be fucking _kidding_ me."

The scale seemed to be connected to something toward the top of the door by a thin electric cable, and the device was tipped all the way to one side. As ridiculous as it sounded, he suspected that the door would open when the scales were balanced, but only one end of the scale was holding something. The weighted end was being held down by a metal, unlit lantern… and there had been only _one_ other place where he had seen another metal, unlit lantern.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, running out of the room, and back down the hallway. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Shouldering the door back to the first floor open, Ethan nearly fell down the short flight of stairs on his way back to the edge of the floor, where he looked down into the water and saw… _nothing_. Marguerite was no longer floating on top of the water, nor was she, _or_ her lantern anywhere to be found. Looking around helplessly for any sign of her, but still finding none, it seemed that Ethan's only choice was to climb down into the water.

After all, the current might have simply pushed the cackling woman to where he couldn't see her, so after setting the shotgun down on the floor, he swung his legs over the side in order to carefully lower himself down. This attempt ended when the part of the floor he was holding on to broke off in his hand, causing Ethan to scream as he fell into the water. There was a _splash_ before he went under, and he had never been much of a swimmer, so he started to thrash around… before realizing that the water was only a couple feet deep.

Grabbing onto the nearest wooden support to help him stand up, Ethan rubbed his eyes before looking around for Marguerite, but didn't see her anywhere. The whole north side was open, allowing direct access to the bayou, but he didn't see her floating around out there. He was about to give up, and go back to the trailer to see if Zoe knew any other way to get through that door, when he turned around and saw something toward the southern side of the old house.

Where most of the water came up against solid dirt where the house met the land, there was some light coming through near the right side, where it almost looked like some kind of tunnel had been dug out, possibly for drainage during floods or something. As unremarkable as this seemed at first, Ethan squinted his eyes, and noticed that on top of daylight coming through the tunnel, the bottom of it was also marked up by what looked like drag-marks in the mud. Could Marguerite have gone out that way?

It was the only lead that he had so far, so Ethan started toward the tunnel, before stopping when he realized that once again he had nearly forgotten the shotgun. It took a few jumps, since the intact part of the old house's floor was just a little higher than he could reach, but eventually his hand closed around the barrel. He even managed to keep from dropping the weapon into the water when he landed, and now it was time to see where the tunnel led.

Turns out that it was only about thirty feet long, and the most difficult part about passing through was keeping the shotgun out of the mud as he crawled on his hands and knees. There was also the fear that the tunnel would collapse on top of him, and thankfully it didn't, since there was nothing that he could have done to save himself if it had, and it was raining even harder when he reached the other side.

Well, maybe it was raining the same, and being inside the old house shielded him from most of it, but he was still able to see that the muddy drag-marks continued on well into the grass beyond the tunnel as if Marguerite had been… _crawling_ even after getting out. The trails were easy to follow, even more so after Ethan stood up, and the muddy path continued across the wet, overgrown grass until stopping at another building.

It took him a second to realize what building it was; the largest he had seen from Zoe's trailer, looking like some kind of huge greenhouse, and he was about to continue tracking Marguerite, when he stopped as logic took over. If the cackling woman had taken refuge in there, she would no doubt see him coming, in in the reverse, the building was big, meaning that she could be hiding _anywhere_ inside. On top of all this, he was unarmed, so before making any attempt to follow the cackling woman, Ethan needed to stop back at the trailer.

The path that led back to the trailer was short, so less than a minute later he was able to get a break from the rain. Water dripped all over the floor as he walked into the trailer, but he didn't care, since his mind was focused on finding the box of shells that he had seen Zoe with before he had fallen asleep. It wasn't too hard to find, just kind of sitting there inside the small bathroom, but as he sat down and reloaded the weapon, his only regret was that Zoe wasn't around.

Honestly, he had been hoping to see her before heading into the greenhouse, mostly to see if she had any advice for handling her mother, but mostly just to… you know… see her. As desperate as Ethan was to rescue his wife, Zoe Baker had become the most, and well… the _only_ pleasant thing about this whole nightmare. His thoughts were now drifting to her; how she smelled, her voice... how good she looked in just her bra... it would be so nice to be able to spend some time with her after they escaped, and then they... wait a second… no.

Having finished reloading the shotgun, and putting the rest of the shells in his pocket, Ethan realized that once the three of them escaped from Eveline and the Bakers, he and Zoe wouldn't really have a future, now would they? He would go back to his life with Mia, as much as could be salvaged anyway, and Zoe would… actually, he had no idea what Zoe was going to do after all this was over, and that made him… sad.

Ethan didn't want to think about the short-haired woman as much as he was, and knew that it couldn't lead to anything but trouble… especially with Mia. So what was he supposed to do? Whatever the solution was, he needed to get that lantern back from Marguerite before _any_ future plans could be made, so he got up, and walked out the trailer door, back into the rain. That horrible, cackling, insect-puking woman was waiting for him in the greenhouse, and like with Jack down in the slaughterhouse… he had a feeling that only one of them would be coming back out alive.


	21. Chapter 21 The Greenhouse

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty One: The Greenhouse**

There was a flash of lightning across the sky, and the rain started coming down even harder, before the incredibly loud _crash_ of thunder that followed as Ethan made his way back toward the greenhouse. The weather in Louisiana was so much different than it was back in Texas; they had rain there, but not as often as in this place, nor was it ever as heavy or last nearly as long. As far as he could tell, it had been raining since right after he and Zoe had gone to sleep, and it was still going strong several hours later.

He could see plenty of holes in the greenhouse roof as well, meaning that there was probably going to be just as much water pouring down inside as there was coming into the old house… but at least the water had helped protect him against the insects that Marguerite had been puking up. Hell, the rain had probably saved his life, since it had also seemed to deter the creatures that he had seen moving around in that nest thing as well.

Almost nothing was left of the mud trail that he had been following before, as he reached the building, with a small exception of some drag-marks under the awning that hung above the first door that he saw. It was a pretty safe bet that the cackling woman had gone that way, so he tried the door, and the knob turned. Ethan hadn't expected it to be unlocked, meaning that he could go after Marguerite right away... but it also meant that she could be in there waiting for him to rush right in.

Maybe there was another way to get inside, and then he could sneak up on _her_ , so he started walking around the building, eventually coming across an exterior staircase. It was covered by a trellis that was overgrown with jasmine, so there was only a little water dripping down through to the faded wooden stairs, and it gave Ethan a much needed break from the falling rain. Making his way to the top as quietly as he could, another door was found, and it too was unlocked, allowing access to the upper floor of the greenhouse when opened.

Ethan had been right, there was just as much water, if not more, pouring in from the broken roof than there was in the old house, but it did help to cover the sound of his movements while he crept across the wooden floor. From what he could see, the upper level of the greenhouse was mostly empty, aside from a couple of what could be tool cabinets scattered around. This whole area seemed to be a platform that had probably been used for maintenance access for the sprinklers that ran above the first floor, being that there were so many openings that allowed him to see both the sprinklers and the overgrown plants below.

However, what he _didn't_ see was Marguerite, or that lantern that she had been carrying around, meaning that he would have to venture down to the first floor. Finding the staircase against the wall was easy, and fortunate, since Ethan didn't want to have to try jumping down, but now he was getting a lot more nervous. Whereas the second floor had been a single, open platform, from the top of the stairs he could see that the first floor was a lot more complicated, containing multiple rooms, and plants that were _far_ more overgrown than the grass outside.

So, readying the shotgun and keeping it aimed toward the bottom of the stairs, Ethan started moving down as quietly as he could, but he had only gone a couple steps when he felt something clamp down around his ankle. Crying out in surprise as he fell on his face, he nearly dropped the shotgun, but it was a good thing that he didn't; turning over to see what had gotten his ankle, only to gasp as he saw that it was a _hand_.

"Welcome to my garden, Ethan!" Marguerite yelled as she started pulling him back up the stairs. "Hope you like it, cause' you're gonna get buried here, you son of a bitch!"

Her arm seemed longer than it had been before, and it took Ethan a second to realize that the reason he could only see part of her was because she was leaning out from inside the wall. Somehow, the cackling woman had managed to squeeze herself into the space between the interior and exterior walls, but he had no intention of joining her in there, so he swung the shotgun around so that the barrel was pointed right into her face, and pulled the trigger.

The grip on his ankle was released as the shell tore into her face with a loud bang, making Marguerite cry out as she fell back down into the wall… and making _Ethan_ cry out the same time as he tumbled down the stairs. Rolling to a stop on the floor below, he could hear the cackling woman scratching and crawling her way through the walls while he pulled himself to his feet, and then Ethan cocked the shotgun.

"We don't have to do this, Marguerite!" He called, trying to follow her movements from the sound. "I just want your lantern, okay? Give me that, and I'll leave you and the rest of your family alone… all I want is to leave with Mia and Zoe, but I don't want to fight with you!"

"Oh, you're such a fuckin' _boy scout_ , ain't you, Ethan!" Her voice called from somewhere different than where he thought she was. "This here lantern is _mine_ , you little bastard, and you _ain't_ takin' two of my daughters from me, _neither_! Here, catch!"

Ethan wasn't sure what she meant by that last part as he entered a larger room with more plants, but then he turned to the left just in time to be struck in the shoulder by a flying metal bucket. The object itself wasn't that big or heavy, but the surprise was enough to make him fall against the nearest wall, and then he saw the cackling woman on the other side of the room, laughing as she picked up a large bag of what looked like fertilizer over her head with one hand, while still carrying the lantern with the other.

This time he had to jump out of the way to avoid it, and it was a good thing he did, since the bag was heavy enough to put a new hole all the way through the nearby wall into the next room. Marguerite continued to laugh as she tossed everything at him that she could get her hands on, big and small, forcing him to duck down behind a shelf after crying out in pain when a brick struck him in the thigh.

"Aw, did that hurt, city-boy?!" She yelled, walking over to pick up her next object. "Well, here, mama's gonna make it all better… catch this, you fuckin' prick!"

The next thing she picked up was a large yellow container that sloshed around as she lifted it over her head, as if it were full of water. Of course, by this time Ethan was getting tired of having things tossed at him, so he took a risk by leaning out and firing the shotgun at her just as she tossed it. The shell struck the container just before it would have left her hands, and it must've contained something flammable, because it burst into a kind of fiery rain that made Marguerite scream as if splashed onto her.

The flames quickly spread across her whole body, with the cackling woman continuing to scream as her hair and clothes were burned away, revealing something about her that was so disturbing that it stopped Ethan in the middle of reloading the two shells that he had fired, once he saw it. Now that Marguerite's clothes were gone, he was able to see that her entire torso had… somehow _mutated_ into a discolored mass… and when he saw that there were insects… _hundreds_ of _burning_ insects falling out of the mass's many holes… he realized that her body had literally become just like the nest he had seen in the old house.

The flames also seemed to be weakening her, slowing Marguerite's moving speed, and making her less coordinated as she started walking again… but when Ethan saw that she was headed toward the nearest stream of water that was leaking in from the roof, he knew that he had to act fast if he was to survive. So he cocked the shotgun and fired a shell into her burning stomach, making her stumble backwards while he ran past, and then he picked up another of the yellow containers that he could now see were clearly marked: _Kerosene_.

Tossing the container against her legs, and then shooting it, the cackling woman screamed again as she was engulfed with even more fire, and now that there were no more insects falling out of her, her skin was starting to melt and char. The next time that Ethan shot her, this time in the chest, Marguerite stumbled back into the wall, before falling to her hands and knees, and he was about to shoot her again, when something strange began to happen. The flames on her body were going out, and her skin was starting to turn… white?

"Ethan." She said, struggling to look up at him while the whiteness continued spreading. "Ethan, we ain't… we ain't killers… we was good folk… good family… please, save my children from Eveline… and you take _good_ care of my Zoe… she needs… she _deserves_ … a good man… a good man like… you."

By this time the whiteness had spread all across her body, and the final words Marguerite spoke were more like a forced whisper just before it covered her face as well. Then the no longer cackling woman was still… and she began to… crumble? It was a strange thing to see; large cracks forming all throughout her body, and then her collapsing down into a hundred tiny pieces as if the strange whiteness had completely changed her into… whatever the brittle substance was that he was now looking at.

This time there had been no feeling of relief like Ethan had experienced after cutting Jack in half in the slaughterhouse, probably since poor Marguerite seemed to have regained her senses just before the end. So was that what Eveline did to them? Was that little girl somehow working them like puppets, and… were they aware? What a nightmare that must've been if it were true, being completely aware of your actions, but helpless to stop them… and just what the hell _was_ Eveline, anyway? Somehow he doubted that the little girl would explain herself, and the only other person that would possibly really know anything was Mia.

His mind screamed for answers as he picked up Marguerite's fallen lantern, and as much as he wanted to convince himself that his wife had nothing to do with what happened to these poor people… there was too much evidence otherwise. Had Mia's so called _babysitting_ job actually involved Eveline like Zoe had suggested? And if so… then what in the literal _fuck_ had she been thinking?

The only way he was going to get any real answers was to find the case that Zoe had described to him, and then hopefully it would provide a way for them to escape. Mia had a lot of questions to answer as well, and as Ethan left the greenhouse, he just hoped that her role in… _whatever_ had actually happened to cause all this, wasn't too damning.


	22. Chapter 22 Finding the Serum

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Two: Finding the Serum**

For a moment it seemed that the rain was going to let up as Ethan made his way back to Zoe's trailer, but then it started coming down just as hard again once he was inside. The short-haired woman was still nowhere to be found, but this was probably the only time that he was okay with not seeing her… since he didn't know how exactly to go about telling Zoe that he had just killed her mother. This wasn't a conversation that he was looking forward, mostly because he had already killed her father, so when he told her… how would she react?

It wasn't like she was under the impression that her parents were harmless, since the short-haired woman had told him about plenty more victims that had come through over the past few years, but they were still her parents, so it was a subject that needed to be approached delicately… after he finished searching the old house for that case, anyway. Finding what Zoe had been looking for might help to soften the blow a little… so would she want to punch him, or want to be held?

Ethan figured that he could use the time it took to search the rest of the old house to think of what to say to her, so he went over to the bathroom, and took the last few remaining shotgun shells out of the box. Lucas and Eveline were still wandering around somewhere, so he reloaded the weapon, pocketed the last couple shells just like last time, and headed back out into the rain. Thankfully this time there were no more interruptions as he walked back to the old house, but then he opened the door and gasped when he saw that someone was right on the other side.

It was Granny Baker, sleeping again, slumped off to the side in her wheelchair, and this made Ethan let out a long sigh of relief since so far, besides Zoe, she was the only member of the Baker family who hadn't tried to gut him yet. It was also odd to find a wheelchair-bound old woman just sitting there with water dripping down on her… there didn't seem to be anyone else around, so he wondered how exactly she had gotten there, across the whole yard by herself. Still, Ethan wasn't about to leave her just sitting there; someone her age could get pneumonia or something… so he walked around the wheelchair, tipped her back a little, and wheeled Granny over to a spot in the room that _wasn't_ leaking.

He felt a little better about himself, knowing that he could still do a good deed in the middle of all this chaos, but now he really had to get back to business, so Ethan moved back through the rooms, around to the walkway that would let him get upstairs. Now that Marguerite was gone, it seemed like it took no time at all for him to get back to the upstairs door that had been sealed by the scales. Just as he thought, attaching the other lantern caused them to return to a more balanced position, and once they stopped moving, there was a loud _click_ from the door.

The door now pushed open as easily as any other had done, but the first thing that Ethan noticed about the next area that he stepped into, was how much darker it was than the rest of the house. There was a small amount of light coming in between the planks of a boarded up window, but as he squinted to see, he realized that there was no water dripping down from the ceiling, explaining why everything was so dark. And of course, he didn't have a flashlight, matches, or anything that could help… probably the only time in his life he regretted not being a smoker.

Well, there had to be _something_ that he could do… maybe there was something left in the room for when the Bakers came up and needed to see what they were doing, so Ethan spent longer than he wanted to admit, fumbling around the room. There were no flashlights or anything, but he _did_ discover that this room was in remarkably good condition, at least compared to the rest of the house. The floor was carpeted, there was a small bed with blankets that weren't rotted, and there were soft objects… a child's plush toys, scattered around the floor.

Clearly this was a child's room, maybe Zoe's old room since it was inside the old house, and there was another door toward the back, but without more light he couldn't tell if it led to a closet or a hallway… maybe if he took off one of the boards on the window. So he made his way back over toward it, cursing after nearly tripping over a stuffed animal, and then reaching the window, only to discover that the planks were nailed down a lot better than he thought.

Struggling to loosen the boards, he rammed them with his shoulder, kicked them, and was even about to try shooting one of them out, when he was stopped by the sudden sound of giggling… a _child's_ giggling to be exact. Cocking the shotgun, and backing away from the sound, Ethan struggled to see in the darkness, only to cry out in surprise when the room was suddenly flooded with light.

Stumbling backwards, and tripping over another plush toy as his eyes tried to adjust, Ethan fell on his rear, scrambling to aim the shotgun toward the sound, and blinking repeatedly until he was finally able to see that the light was coming from an overhead fixture. Once his sight finished focusing, he also saw that the light switch near the door was now flipped to the on position, making him feel a bit silly, since he had already known that parts of the house still had power… but then the embarrassment turned to dread when he saw that standing next to the light switch… was _Eveline_.

She folded her arms and glared at him when he moved the barrel so that he was aiming the shotgun at her, but instead of waiting for her to do something, Ethan scooted over to the other door he had found. Pulling it open, and then slamming it shut once through, he backed away down a longer, still dark corridor. The more he learned about this girl and her… _strange abilities_ , the less Ethan wanted to be anywhere around her, and honestly he would have rather died before letting himself become like the Bakers.

Suddenly the light came in in the hallway, revealing both that this place was also in far better shape than the main house, but also that even though the door back to the bedroom hadn't opened, Eveline was now standing there next to the switch. She giggled again as Ethan continued backing away, but did not advance toward him, even as the hallway opened up into another, larger room. Once again moving into the shadows, as if that would help him escape her in some way, he only took his eyes off Eveline long enough to blink, but it was long enough for her to suddenly be standing at the next switch as the lights came on… as if she had _teleported_.

"You stay the _fuck_ away from me, Eveline!" He yelled, aiming at her again. "I've seen what you did to Jack and the others… what you did to _Mia_ … I don't want your _God damn_ gift, and I don't want to be _any_ part of your family! I just want to leave, you hear me?! I want to leave this entire… _shithole_ State forever, and I'm taking my wife, _and_ Zoe with me!"

"Ethan, you _better_ stop pointing that gun at me." She replied in a low tone, basically ignoring his words. "Guns make me nervous… the men in the lab carried guns… so did _Mia_ , and _none_ of them loved me. I like you, Ethan, and I want us to be family, but if you don't like me back… then I'll have my _friends_ punish you the same way they punished that spoiled brat, Mia, on the ship."

Even as frightened of her as he was, Ethan realized that a lot of the things she was saying didn't make any sense. For instance, why would someone like Mia ever have to carry a gun? And what was all this about a ship, and what were the two of them even _doing_ aboard one? There were even more questions, but they were quickly forgotten when he noticed that the room was starting to change. There was a wooden cracking sound, and then the awful smell of mold, the same stuff he had smelled in the cellar, began to burst out through the walls like gelatin.

Soon it was hard to even take a breath as the black mold reached the floor, carrying with it a large supply of solid objects that could have only been bones, and it was only now that Ethan realized what was about to happen. As it had done in the main house's morgue, the mold solidified as it wrapped itself around the bones, and Eveline clapped her hands in delight as not one… but _four_ of the molded, clawed creatures rose up from the black substance. Each was a dead ringer for the one that had attacked him before, and once fully formed, each one of them turned toward him.

"You like my friends, don't you, Ethan?" The little girl asked almost innocently as the creatures twitched. "It used to be hard, but now I can make _lots_ , and they get _real_ mad when people don't like me, don't you all?"

"Wait, wait, wait a second, Eveline." Ethan replied, quickly putting the shotgun down just as the monsters started to get excited. "I like you just fine, uh… sweetheart… it's just that, uh… Jack and Marguerite, uh… they tried to hurt me, and I… uh… I got scared, that's all. Haven't you ever gotten scared when someone tried to hurt you?"

The creatures remained where they were for a few seconds, but then Eveline's angry expression softened, before each monster growled in what could have almost been pain as they started to sink back toward the floor. The bones fell out of place as the black mold liquefied, and then they were gone almost as quickly as they appeared… leaving only the buildup of mold along the floor and walls as proof that they had ever existed.

"Ethan, who do you love more? Mia or Zoe?" Eveline asked with a sudden yawn and long stretch as if she were tired again. "I want Lucas to stay my big brother, but _you're_ gonna be my new daddy, so I want you to pick which one of my sisters is gonna be the new mama. They're both pretty, and they both like you… even though Mia can be a jerk sometimes. Think about it, and you can make your decision after my nap."

With that, the little girl walked back out of the room, allowing Ethan to sigh with relief as he leaned back against the nearby dresser, nearly knocking a large case onto the floor… a large _green_ case. Could this be it, he wondered as he turned around to look at it? Could he be that lucky? Popping the locks, and opening the lid, the first thing he saw was some kind of processing unit, with an empty space for holding something on each side. There were also a set of large, empty syringes and vials locked to the underside of the lid, as well as a plate with some kind of instructions written on it.

 _EMERGENGY E-SERIES DETOXIFICATION KIT_

 _THE SERUM PRODUCED HAS BEEN PROVEN EFFECTIVE AS A COUNTER-BACTERIOLOGICAL AGAINST SHORT TERM INFECTION BY E SERIES BOW# 001 OR LONG TERM LOW LEVEL INFECTION BY THE SAME._

 _WARNING: NOT TO BE USED IN THE CASE OF LONG TERM HIGH LEVEL INFECTION AS DETOXIFICATION MAY NOT BE COMPLETE OR RAPID BODILY CALCIFICATION MAY OCCUR._

 _1\. PLACE D-SERIES CRANIAL NERVE SAMPLE (PRESERVED HEAD, LEFT COMPARTMENT) AND D-SERIES PERIPHERAL NERVE SAMPLE (PRESERVED ARM, RIGHT COMPARTMENT) INTO PROCESSOR._

 _2\. COLLECT PRODUCED SERUM INTO PROVIDED VIALS AS IT IS PROCESSED (PRODUCES TWO DOSES) AND THEN PREPARE DOES USING PROVIDED SYRINGES (EACH SYRINGE HOLDS ONE COMPLETE DOSE)._

 _3\. INJECT COMPLETE DOSE INTO INFECTED SUBJECT'S FOREARM AND THEN QUARANTINE IMMEDIATELY UNTIL SUCCESSFUL DETOXIFICATION CAN BE VARIFIED._

Well, that was it, Ethan had found the case that Zoe was looking for, although there was a small problem. The instructions called for something called a D-Series sample, but both compartments used for holding these samples were empty. There was nothing he could do about that now, so hoping that she would have more answers, he closed the case, and began making his way back through the old house, toward Zoe's trailer.


	23. Chapter 23 Play Me

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Three: Play Me**

It was starting to look like the rain was never going to let up, but by this time Ethan was so used to getting soaked that he almost didn't notice it anymore. He had the case, and that was a good thing… even though two crucial ingredients for making the detoxification serum were missing. All he could do was hope that Zoe had some kind of idea where the D-Series head and arm were… whatever the hell a _D-Series_ was.

The short-haired woman was still not around when he got back to the trailer, but even though he was still alone, Ethan had come to regard this little place as some kind of sanctuary… even though it really wasn't any safer for him in there than it was at any other part of the Baker estate. Setting the case down on the dresser, he sat down on the bed, taking a moment to rest by leaning his head on the wall.

With both Jack and Marguerite gone, Ethan felt like he was finally starting to gain a little control of the situation, even though there were still Lucas and Eveline to deal with… if the little girl even _could_ be dealt with. The bad part about things calming down for a minute, though, was that he was given time to think… like, _really_ think about what was happening… and that made him actually _wish_ for things to pick up again so that the thoughts would stop.

The first thing he thought of was Mia, and how she had been forced to spend the last three years in this nightmare. His wife might or might not have had something to do with starting everything that happened to the Bakers, but after three years of being at least partially infected by Eveline's _gift_ , as well as suffering things at Lucas's hands that _no_ woman should _ever_ have to endure… he would say that she had paid for it enough, whatever her role in this whole mess had been.

Right now he just wanted her to be safe. Ethan wanted to rescue her from this backwoods corner of hell, take his wife back home to Texas, and just forget that all of this ever happened, no matter how long it took for Mia to recover. They had been a happy couple before, and he knew that they could be again, but… he couldn't help but wonder if after everything she had been through… would his wife _ever_ be the same again?

Then his thoughts turned to Zoe, the only sane member of the Baker family, and what was to happen with her. Right now, the only thing that Ethan could think of was how much he wanted to rescue both her and his wife from Eveline's infection, but whereas Mia would be able to see her _real_ family again when this was all over, Zoe's family was slowly being wiped out… at _his_ hand.

So, what was he supposed to do, just drop her off in town after all this was over and say _'gosh, Zoe, sorry I killed your family and you lost everything, but have a nice life'_? No, of course not… he might have been married to Mia, and loved his wife dearly, but… he couldn't deny that he had feelings for Zoe as well… feelings that were getting stronger. Was it because she had saved him so many times? Was it because of the three year separation from Mia? Jesus, he had only known the short-haired woman for about twenty four hours, so why in the hell was he caring so much for her?

But before anyone could even _think_ about escaping, the serum had to be made, and before _that_ could be done, Zoe had to come back to the trailer and help him find the missing ingredients, so for now there was nothing to do but wait. So the minutes ticked by, but there was no sign of her, and he only meant to close his eyes for a second, but when Ethan opened them again, the sun had moved a great distance across the sky.

There was no clock in the trailer, but by the look of things, it was now late afternoon… so where was Zoe? How was he supposed to make the serum if she never came back to help him figure out the case… actually, where _was_ the case? The large green case was no longer where he left it, nor did it seem to be anywhere else inside the trailer when he looked around, so Ethan was about to scratch his head in order to help him think… when he noticed that there was now something taped to his hand so that he was holding it.

It was an old VHS tape, the kind that everyone used to record movies from HBO when he was a kid, and written on the tape's label were two simple words: _PLAY ME!_ That would have been great, if he had a damn _VCR_ on hand… but then he saw that there had been yet more changes made to the trailer while he was asleep. At the table where Zoe kept her overflowing ashtray, there was now a small television set… along with a VCR sitting on top of it. His first thought was of course 'who the hell did all this?', but Ethan figured that he would find out by playing the tape, so it unwrapped it from his hand, and put it into the slot.

The first thing that popped up was an old test-pattern screen that a lot of amateur film makers had used for a title screen back in the 80's and 90's, and the title read: _THE ADVENTURES OF CITY BOY_. This screen stayed on for several seconds, before the image changed to an extremely close view of Lucas's face. He seemed to be messing with the camera to make sure it was steady, but then backed up so that more of him could be seen… standing in the trailer, next to the sleeping, and _loudly_ snoring Ethan.

" _Hey, buddy_." Lucas said happily, waving to the camera, and then at Ethan. " _Good Lord, you're a heavy sleeper… but that's okay, we're jus' gonna go ahead, and start. Now… since you been goin' round' like a damn boy scout, tryin' to save your wife and all, I thought to myself… Lucas… you reckon ol' Ethan would make a good superhero? Yeah… had me a good laugh at that one, too… but we're gonna do it anyway, so… it's The Adventures of City Boy_!"

Cupping his hands over his mouth, the bald man made a strange kind of sound that Ethan guessed was supposed to imitate a trumpet fanfare, and then he started making whooshing sounds while sticking his arms straight out and moving his upper body around as if to imitate flight. This went on for a few seconds, and then Lucas did another fanfare before moving back to the bed and sitting down with his arm around Ethan… but he didn't wake up.

" _Yeah, kids, it's no one's favorite hero, City Boy_." He continued, patting sleeping Ethan on the head. " _Disguised as 'Ethan Winters', the bed-wettin', yellow-bellied, uh… accountant, or… whatever the fuck you do for a livin'… but soon as shit gets real, City Boy goes leapin' into action… well, most of the time. Anyway, today we join City Boy, takin' himself a nap after a hard day. Why, after fightin' off the sinister 'Old Bastard' down in them dark dungeons, and then beatin' up the evil 'Gripin' Bitch' in the forest, City Boy came back to his stately trailer, cheated on his wife with some slut named Zoe, and then plum passed out. But what City Boy didn't know… was that shit was bout' to go gettin' real on him, real fast like_."

His speech completed, Lucas got up, walked back over to the camera, and then the image changed to the bald man again adjusting the camera so that it wouldn't fall, but clearly he was no longer inside the trailer. There wasn't much that Ethan could see, since the bald man was still so close to the camera, aside from part of the wall behind him that looked like it was made of a bunch of nailed boards.

" _Suddenly City Boy gets himself a video from his arch-enemy_." Lucas said, putting on one of those masks made of fake glasses, a big nose, and bushy mustache. " _Hey, City Boy, it's me, your arch-enemy, uh… Big Mustachio. Now, you know what I done? I went an' kidnapped your woman, that's what. Yeah, you wasn't expectin' that, now was you? Now, if you want Mia back unharmed, you're gonna have to get a million… no, a 'billion' dollars from the city, and…_

" _Jesus fuckin' Christ, Lucas_!" Zoe's voice yelled from behind him. " _Where do you keep gettin' this crap… I never seen you readin' or nothin'_."

In response to this comment, the bald man just glared at the camera for a second before turning around and walking away from it, revealing that wherever he was, he had both Mia _and_ Zoe on their knees, handcuffed to an old radiator against the wall. He could also see what looked like part of the missing case at the very edge of what the camera could see, but then Ethan became distracted when he saw Lucas pull his leg back and kick Zoe in the mouth, causing her to let out a yelp as she fell all the way down.

" _Thanks, you fuckin'_ _party-pooper_." The bald man continued, ripping off the mask and tossing it down. " _Stupid bitch… okay, Ethan, I got both your women, and I went'an borrowed your case, hope you don't mind too much. See, Eveline gave me the head and arm you're wantin' so bad; must've figured on you getting' hold of the case, and if you're wantin' them back, you're gonna need to get your worthless city-boy self down to the barn, an' fight me like a man_."

" _No, Ethan, don't come to the barn_!" Mia suddenly yelled, pulling at her handcuffs. " _Don't come, it's a trap_!"

Again, Lucas just glared at the camera for a second, before picking up a large wrench, winking at the camera, and reaching toward it just as the tape ended. For a few seconds Ethan couldn't believe what he had just seen, since most of it was so ridiculous that… no, it was serious, and right now Lucas Baker was doing God knows what to both Mia _and_ Zoe. Suddenly some lights came on, not inside the trailer, but through the window, and when Ethan looked, he saw that someone had turned on an incredibly bright light above the front door of the nearby barn that he had seen earlier in the day.

There were still a couple hours until sunset, by the look of the sky, but Ethan didn't want to waste any more time than he already had done by watching the whole video. The only thing that mattered right now was saving Mia and Zoe… or at least that was what he told himself while secretly wishing he could get his hands around Lucas's neck. The infected Bakers had all been crazy, but the bald man was just plain sick, and as Ethan grabbed his shotgun and headed back out into the rain, he was absolutely certain that Lucas Baker had to die.


	24. Chapter 24 The Barn Fight

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Four: The Barn Fight**

There was a long, drawn out _creak_ as Ethan pulled open the large front door of the barn, and it slowly closed again behind him once he passed through. The roof was in better condition than it had been in the last few buildings, although a small amount of water still managed to drip through in places, and the concrete floor was almost completely covered by a layer of straw that was a few inches thick. There were several wooden stalls on either side of the large, open area that he was in, as if the barn had once housed horses or other large animals… but there weren't any around now.

Three rows of long, fluorescent lights along the ceiling provided illumination, although only the center row was on at the moment, allowing Ethan to see that there was a sectioned-off second floor to this place… although from where he was, he couldn't see any doors that would provide access to the areas beyond this first corral… nor did he see any sign of Lucas Baker. Looking around the stalls from where he was standing, and also on the wooden walkways above, Ethan couldn't find the bald man anywhere, which was disappointing after everything that had been done to lure him there.

Suddenly there was a loud _thud_ behind him, making Ethan jump and turn around to see that a heavy wooden bar had fallen across the door's latches, trapping him inside as the rest of the ceiling's lights turned on. Each bulb was just as bright as the one that had first come on outside, causing him to shield his eyes with his arm as the corral was flooded with light so intense that it hurt to look at.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls_." Lucas's voice crackled in over some feedback from an unseen speaker. " _Baker Farms of Dulvey, Louisiana is right proud to welcome Ya'll to… The Barn Fight!_ "

There was silence for a second or two after the echo died down, but then the sound of a pre-recorded applause began to play. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the light, at least as much as they could, Ethan again started looking around, expecting to be ambushed by Lucas in a similar way to how Jack had done. However, nothing happened as the applause died down, and there was _still_ no sign of Lucas. But why the hell would he have lured Ethan into the barn if he didn't want to fight?

" _Introducin' first, from, uh, Arkansas, or… someplace_." Lucas's voice continued. " _Weighin' in at… oh, looks like bout' a hundred and twenty pounds soakin' wet… the challenger: Ethan 'City Boy' Winters!_ "

"Quit fucking around, Lucas!" Ethan yelled to be heard over the pre-recorded booing and jeering that followed his introduction. "I came here like you wanted, so are we gonna do this, or not?!"

He probably hadn't been heard at all over the pre-recorded sound effects, but all this showboating and other ridiculous things that Lucas had been doing were making Ethan even _more_ eager for a chance to kill the bald man. And why _not_ kill him? After all, the things that he had seen Lucas do to Mia were enough to warrant a bullet to his head on their own, not to mention the things that he _hadn't_ seen.

" _And in this corner, his opponent, from… somewhere in Vermillion County, I'm sure_." Lucas's voice announced. " _Weighin' in at jus' a bit more than Ethan, and wearin' the tin star of justice… the Heavyweight Champion of, uh… Dulvey: Deputy David 'Fat Hog' Anderson!"_

Now _this_ was something that took Ethan completely off guard… he figured that Lucas must've lost his damn mind, and wondered how he could have possibly thought that Anderson could have… but then the closed door to one of the closest stalls slid open, and Ethan realized what the bald man meant as another one of Eveline's clawed creatures shambled its way out into the open. Unlike the other ones, however, this one had distinctive qualities; part of the hat the Anderson had been wearing could be seen sticking out from the mold on its head, and the cop's shiny badge could be clearly seen, as if it had been pinned onto the outside of the mold _after_ the creature had formed.

Like all the others had done, this monster immediately started toward him with claws and teeth ready, but _this_ time Ethan wasn't so helpless. Waiting until the creature that had once been Deputy Anderson was right on top of him, he aimed and fired the shotgun, sending a shell right into the creature's armpit when it reached for him. At this range, its arm was almost completely severed by the blast, but Ethan wasn't done, cocking the weapon before firing again.

Dealing with these monsters was a lot easier now that he was armed, versus when he had been locked in the morgue with nothing but a chair to defend himself with; the second shot finished severing its arm, while also making the creature stumble back a couple steps. It growled in pain… or maybe it was frustration as it started toward Ethan again, only to have part of its head blasted off, along with the mostly buried hat.

" _Oh no, sports fans_!" Lucas's voice announced as the monster did a half spin before falling on its face. " _Things ain't lookin' so good for our champion_."

The monster was starting to get up at the same time that Ethan was walking up to it, so he cocked the shotgun again, before sticking the barrel down into the exposed throat and pulling the trigger. There was a partially muffled _bang_ as the shell destroyed most of the monster's upper torso, and then the creature collapsed to the ground, sending Anderson's badge rolling a short distance until it also fell over. Hopefully that would allow the cop's spirit to rest in peace, Ethan thought as he reached into his pocket and took out the very _last_ shell that he had… one that was going to be put into Lucas's stupid, bald ass… if he ever showed up.

" _The champ is down! The champ is down_!" The bald man yelled through the speakers. " _Oooh, baby, I reckon the crowd lost a good bit of money on this one! Well, Ethan… looks like you won, and Zoe's up here jus' itchin' to give you a big ol' victory kiss, and… wait, what's this? Hold on, now, this weren't in the script… I swear, whoever's writin' this shit must be plum crazy, Ethan… but let's jus' go with it_."

Gritting his teeth in anger, now for the fate of Anderson, on top of everything else that Lucas had done, Ethan was so mad that he had trouble loading the last shell into the shotgun. Cocking it immediately once the shell was inside so that he wouldn't miss his chance, he waited for Lucas to come out, since this was probably the surprise that the bald man had been talking about… but instead of Lucas running out to attack him, the door from yet another stall opened… and this time something _big_ walked out.

It was covered in mold like the others, but was at least a foot taller, and three times as stocky, making it look like a sumo wrestler… an incredibly _large_ sumo wrestler. It didn't seem to have claws of teeth like the rest of Eveline's creatures, but the bad news was that this thing probably didn't need them as it broke the raised door off of the stall instead of trying to duck down under it.

" _Could it be? Yes, it is_!" Lucas yelled so loudly that it caused feedback in the speakers. "Ladies and Gentlemen, introducin' tonight's guest fighter, all the way from wherever the hell Ethan's from, again, and weighin' in at… a fuck ton… I give you the invincible… the undefeated… the cute an' cuddly… Travis!"

Once the bald man spoke his friend's name, all of the hate and rage toward him was forgotten, immediately redirected into disbelief and pure _shock_ that the gigantic creature stomping toward him was actually his friend, Travis. Memories flashed through his head of the drive to Dulvey, as well as the ignored warnings not to go to the Baker farm… and finally the cruel fate at the hands of Mia's chainsaw. But what did Lucas expect to gain by getting Eveline to do this to his friend? Did he think that it would somehow stop Ethan from doing what had to be done?

"I'm so sorry, Travis." Ethan said, slowly raising the shotgun as the creature got closer. "I should've listened to you from the beginning… but I won't let them keep you like this… goodbye."

The huge monster was now towering over him, and it was raising its massive arm to crush him just as Ethan pointed the barrel right into its face. Pulling the trigger took a lot less time than swinging an arm, so Ethan fired his last shell right into the creature that used to be Travis's face, expecting it to at the most fall down. However, the monster exploded in a flash of orange light instead, making his vision go white for a second, slowly realizing as it cleared that he had been thrown across the room.

There was a trail through the straw on the floor where he had slammed to the ground and rolled to a stop, and now there was no sound but that of his own ears ringing. Trying to get up, Ethan succeeded in getting up to his elbows before falling over sideways again, so for now he was content to stay there, at least until his ears stopped ringing… which happened at the same time that he realized someone was walking toward him. It was Lucas, and now Ethan started frantically looking for the shotgun… but then remembering that there were no shells left.

"Sorry bout' that, buddy." Lucas laughed as he stopped to pick up the obviously broken weapon. "See, I meant to tell you that I went and stuffed your old pal, _Travis_ , full of gunpowder fore' the fight, but… guess I jus' plum forgot."

Laughing as he discarded the broken shotgun, the bald man continued walking toward him, pressing his foot down on Ethan's arm to keep him from trying to get away. With his other leg, Lucas pulled it back before swiftly bringing his boot up into Ethan's jaw, making him taste blood as he fell the rest of the way down to his back. Still struggling to get away, Ethan tried to get out from under the bald man's foot, but when he sit up to try, Lucas simply kicked him in the jaw again, this time making him nearly pass out.

"Don't fall out on me, yet, city boy." The bald man laughed, grabbing him by the shirt to make him sit up partway. "See, you got a _long_ night head' of you, Ethan… you an' me, we're fixin' to play us some games, hear? And its them games I'm gonna use to make you pay… you're gonna pay for killin' mama and daddy… you're gonna pay for not exceptin' Eveline's gift… you're gonna pay for violatin' my sister… and you're gonna pay for bein' the one Mia still wants. Okay… _now_ you can fall out."

Pulling him up into a higher sitting position, Lucas slugged Ethan in the side of the head with his free hand, causing him to pass out completely before his head even hit the straw.


	25. Chapter 25 Lucas's Game

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Five: Lucas's Game**

As when he had first been captured by Jack, Ethan was dimly aware that he was being dragged across the barn's concrete floor, but that was about the extent of it. The next thing he knew, everything was dark, but instead of being dragged across the floor, he was now stationary, in a sitting position. It felt like he was sitting on a cold, metal chair, and his left arm was lying flat on a wooden table or bench right in front of him, but he couldn't move it.

His other arm was free, as were his legs, and since the dizziness from his latest row of unconsciousness was starting to fade, Ethan was starting to be able to move around again. However, before he could even _begin_ to start investigating the dark area, the room was flooded with light as what felt like a bag was roughly pulled off his head. Everything was a blur at first, but after blinking a few times, the first thing he saw was _Lucas_ standing right in front of him.

"Mornin', buddy!" The bald man exclaimed, smacking him in the side of the head. "Now, I know you're over here jus' rarin' to get back to the action, since you was so quick to put a hurtin' on your buddy and that stupid fuckin' cop… but you gotta learn to _share_ , Ethan. It ain't fair, you jus' hoggin' the spotlight all the time, so I done got you some friends."

Lucas then backed away, allowing Ethan to see the… _odd_ sort of room that he was in. There were intensely bright lights mounted up in all four corners, and the far wall was covered with what looked like television monitors of different sizes. He was sitting on a chair at a table that had a green felt covering, as if it had been made for playing card games, and his arm was restrained with a series of bolted-down clamps starting at the elbow.

There was another clamp on his wrist, keeping his arm locked to the table, and as for his fingers, his hand was stuck inside a metal hand-shaped impression that had a separate tie-down for each of his fingers. This made it impossible for Ethan to move his left arm in _any_ way, and there was some kind of machine mounted onto the table next to his hand. It was red, with a settings dial, and a pair of prongs that pointed down a couple inches away from the back of his palm, but other than that he couldn't tell what it did.

He was also not alone; there were two others around the table, arms locked down in identical fashion near similar machines, and Ethan could tell that they were women, even though there were bags over their heads. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who the two women were, although Lucas _did_ seem a little disappointed that Ethan didn't gasp in shock when the bags were pulled off to reveal that it was Mia and Zoe sitting around the table with him.

"Lucas, have you lost your mind?!" Zoe yelled, looking up at him. "You better stop this fore' Eveline finds out, cause' then you'll…

The short-haired woman's words were cut off when Lucas suddenly balled up his fist and socked her in the side of the mouth, and Zoe might have fallen right out of her chair if her arm hadn't been bolted down. The bald man went to hit her again just as she was recovering, but then Mia stopped him by grabbing his wrist with her free hand, but this just resulted in her getting a hit of her own.

"Leave them alone, you son of a bitch!" Ethan yelled, trying to reach him, but failing because of his own arm. "You think you're a _big man_ , beating up on girls who can't defend themselves? If you were a _real man_ , you'd treat Mia with respect regardless of whether or not she liked you, and you would _never_ raise a hand to your own…

Now it was time for Ethan's words to be cut off, when Lucas took a kind of remote control unit out of his pocket, and pushed the button, causing the machine next to Ethan's hand to activate. It hummed and sparked as the prongs suddenly stabbed down into his hand, making Ethan scream as he was jolted by a high voltage electrical current. This went on for a couple seconds, with Ethan screaming and his legs kicking around underneath the table, until he nearly collapsed when Lucas let go of the button.

"Stop this!" Mia yelled, trying to get to Ethan but only being able to reach a bit past his restrained hand. "I'll stay here, just let Ethan go!"

Instead of reacting in his usual manner, the bald man simply turned and walked out of the room, through a nearby door. The electricity had left Ethan barely able to move, and Mia was still trying to reach him… but Zoe was doing something else. She had her free hand reached under the table as if fumbling around for something, and then the metal impression holding her hand… moved a bit as if it were starting to loosen. However, a moment later the monitors on the wall behind her came to life, each showing Lucas sitting at some kind of desk in another room.

" _Okay, I gotta admit I wasn't quite ready to go and use this again_." The bald man explained. " _There's supposed to be fun stuff like guillotines for cuttin' off fingers, and this big ol' blade that goes and chopps off heads… but that stuff got all tore up workin' over them boys from Sewer Gators durin' poker night, and I ain't had no time to fix it yet. Fraid' all I got left is the 'shocker', and no, it ain't the kind I gave Mia earlier_."

Suddenly distracted from Lucas's ranting by a kick to the shin by Zoe, Ethan looked over at her, and it took him a second to realize that she was trying to silently tell him that her restraints were loosening, both by silently mouthing the words _and_ showing him that she could move a tiny bit. He was never very good at reading lips, so it took a second again to realize that she was mouthing the words _help me_ , while pointing underneath the table in a way so Lucas couldn't see her hand.

" _Okay, so let's go on and get started_." The bald man continued. " _I'm gonna ask each of you questions; tell the truth and nothin' happens to you… lie and you'll be ridin' the lightnin'. Now, Zoe… we all know you're a slut, but tell the truth… if Ethan, here, asked you for sex, would you give it up?_ "

"Go to hell, Lucas, you fuckin' pervert!" Zoe yelled, spitting at the monitors. "Ethan's a married man, I'd _never_ get tween' him and his wife!"

There was a reaction to one of the monitors that could be seen on the wall next to Lucas where he was sitting, and after looking at it, he shook his head. The bald man then gave a pretty good _Maury Povich_ impression saying _'our test reveals that was a lie'_ before making Zoe shriek as she was electrocuted in the same manner that Ethan had been before this… _game_ … had started. She was sobbing and shaking by the time Lucas stopped the current, and as much as Ethan wanted to save her, the only thing he could do was reach under the table and hold her free hand, which she squeezed tightly.

" _Okay, movin' right along_." The bald man laughed as Zoe's hand moved back to working on her restraints. " _Our next guest is Mia Winters, and everyone here knows me an' her been fuckin' round' for a while, but our viewers're dyin to know… do you still love Ethan?_ "

"Yes, I do." Mia replied, looking at Ethan. "Ethan, I still love you just as much as I did when we got married."

Another reaction in the monitor, but this time Lucas looked disappointed as he said that _'our test shows you told the truth'_ in a far less convincing Maury Povich impression. The bald man pushed the button anyway, but this time instead of Mia getting electrocuted, it was both Ethan and Zoe who were made to suffer. Apparently Lucas had forgotten to mention that telling the truth caused the other players to get hurt instead. It was more difficult for he and Zoe to get back to trying to free her after the current stopped, but the bolt was almost loose… just a little longer.

" _Now, Ethan, I know you been bein' good and waitin' your turn_." Lucas continued as they struggled with the bolt. " _But since you got to have fun doin' the barn fight all by yourself… let's go back to Zoe. Okay, slut… here's the big one… do you wish Mia was dead so you can run off with Ethan_? _Answer fast, you stupid bitch, or all three of you get it_!"

"No, I don't!" Zoe yelled, frantically trying to get the last part under the table free. "I could _never_ wish that!"

From the look on her face, Ethan could tell that she was lying, and although he was flattered by this revelation, there wasn't any time to even react to it, since the short-haired woman was about to get electrocuted, and the bolt was now free on her hand restraints. This meant that if she started convulsing from the current, Lucas would discover that she was free, and there would be no hope of escape. Even with the bolt out, the metal hand impression was harder to release than it looked, so after the bald man's next Maury impression, Ethan did the only thing he could think of.

Just as Lucas pressed the button, Ethan reached over and grabbed onto the machine's prongs, preventing them from going into Zoe's hand. This gave her the time she needed to finish freeing her hand before slipping her arm out of the other restraints, but Ethan was only dimly aware of this while he was being electrocuted in her place. He thought he heard her say something to him, but couldn't be sure as his body flailed around, and when the current finally stopped, the short-haired woman was gone.

"You cheatin' ass mother fuckers!" Lucas yelled, kicking open the door and storming into the room. "Where the _fuck_ did that little bitch go?!"

Even though he felt like he was going to die, Ethan was happy that Zoe had managed to escape. However, this fact didn't help once the bald man pushed the button to start electrocuting Mia, making her scream while Lucas ran over and punched Ethan in the mouth. He kicked the chair out from under him, before grabbing Ethan by the hair and bashing his head into the side of the table, and then resumed punching him while Mia was still being electrocuted.

"You know, city-boy." The bald man said, stopping long enough to push the button, allowing Mia to collapse. "I'm startin' to think you might be a bit smarter than you look… not that the bar's too high on that, now. Anyhow, you impressed me so much, that you an' me's gonna play a _special_ game… jus' the two of us. Sounds fun, right? But, first I gotta put a hurtin' on you for ruinin' the game… you understand."


	26. Chapter 26 Happy Birthday

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Six: Happy Birthday**

"City-boy, you are one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?" Lucas asked as he dragged Ethan by the ankles. "Yeah, we got ourselves off to a bad start, with us fightin' over Mia, and you goin' and bangin' my sister like you done… but that's all in the past. You an' me're gonna start over, and buddy, I got me a little somethin's gonna perk you right up."

After the bald man had finished pummeling him after Zoe's escape, Ethan had been released from the clamps and bolts that held his arm down to the table, only to be thrown onto the floor, and tied up once again. This time Lucas used a series of zip-ties to bind Ethan's wrists and ankles together, not that he was left in any condition to fight back, and then the bald man dragged him out of the room by his ankles.

Turns out that the _game room_ had only been a short distance from where _the barn fight_ had taken place, but instead of being moved toward the open area where he had fought the remains of Anderson and Travis, Lucas took him in the opposite direction. There was no straw on the floor as they entered a long hallway, so Ethan felt every inch of the rough concrete as his partially exposed back was dragged across it, but thankfully the bald man stopped when they reached a door off to the left side.

There were other doors around, mostly made of wood, but this one was metal, and Ethan found his mind returning to the similar doors that he had seen in both the main house and where the lantern scale was. I keypad was mounted off to the side of the door, and when Lucas pushed the buttons, it made a similar sound to the one that _ADT_ had supplied when Ethan and Mia had decided to buy a home security system a few years back. The bald man pushed a few numbers, and the panel made a sharp _beep_ before the door's lock clicked, but all Ethan could see inside was darkness when the door was pushed open.

"It's taken me _weeks_ to finish this, Ethan." Lucas said excitedly as he started dragging Ethan inside. "You know, I actually _envy_ you right now… really, I do… promise."

"You're sick, Lucas." Ethan replied weekly. "Why do you…

But his words were interrupted when the bald man suddenly dropped his ankles, grabbed Ethan by the shirt, and forced him to stand. Lucas then slugged him in the stomach, making Ethan cough as he doubled over in pain, but he was immediately pulled back upright so the bald man could shove him up against the wall.

"What, you don't fuckin' _believe_ me?!" Lucas screamed, getting right in his face. "You see the _joy_ on my face, Ethan?! Do you?! Can't fake joy like _this_ , I don't care how gooda actor you are! So you better get you a damn positive attitude, city-boy, cause' this here's all for you!"

The bald man slugged him again, this time pushing Ethan down to the floor when he doubled over, and then taking out a knife. Gasping and trying to get away for fear of being stabbed, Ethan was surprised when Lucas cut the zip-ties around his wrists and ankles instead… before walking out of the room and slamming the door, leaving Ethan lost in darkness. No, wait… there _was_ a light. It was flickering like a candle, and coming from a nearby table, so he groaned while pulling himself to his feet, and headed toward the light.

Turns out that it _was_ a candle, so Ethan picked it up in the hopes of exploring his surroundings, only to cry out in horror when raising the candle revealed a monstrous figure standing right in front of him. Wait, no… it wasn't a monster… it was some kind of dummy that was molded after what had to be the creepiest clown that he had ever seen. The abomination had faded red hair that stuck out to the sides, partially exposed skeletal ribs, and a wide, toothy grin with wild eyes to match.

The dummy also seemed to be missing some pieces… like its finger, and there was a deep impression in its torso where something could be inserted. In front of the dummy was a faded old book that had been covered in black ink, scribbled over so many times that it was impossible to read the words. There didn't seem to be anything else on the table, there was only so much that the candle allowed Ethan to see, so he decided to do some more exploring… well, at least nothing had jumped out to try and stab him yet.

As he moved around the area, he discovered that this place was probably someone's half-assed attempt to convert part of the barn into an apartment. There was a partially finished bathroom where the toilet bowl was filled with something horrendous, as well as an almost completed kitchen that had an over and some cabinets… and not much else. Figuring that the oven's stove-top might give him a little more light, if it _worked_ that is, Ethan turned on the burners… and they worked.

The light from the four burners lit up the surrounding area, allowing him to see… not much beyond the kitchen, but then he turned around and saw another flickering light coming from down a short hallway. It looked like a couple more candles were burning, and he figured that spreading them around the area would give him a better picture of what he was dealing with, so Ethan started down the hallway, only to gasp as he was suddenly sprayed with water from all directions as if he had walked into a sprinkler system or a shower… and the candle went out.

" _Went an' got yourself all wet, city-boy_?" Lucas's voice laughed as overhead lights suddenly came on throughout the makeshift apartment. " _Well, now that you're focused, let's go on and get started. Now, I call this game 'Night of the Screamin' City Boy', and believe-you-me, it's a darn sight better than the last title. All you gotta do is light that there candle, an' put it on the cake with the others… jus' be careful you don't go settin' yourself up on the way_."

Lucas started laughing again as if he had just told a really funny joke, but Ethan didn't get it as he moved past the wall-mounted shower system and into the room beyond. It was like a small living room, with some chairs and a desk, but it had two distinguishing features. The first was a large wooden barrel that had what looked like a tap for pouring drinks, and the other feature was a cake, just like the bald man had said. It was a large birthday cake with two lit candles on top, an obvious spot for a third, and a card on top that read:

 _HAPPY BIRTHDAY_

 _GOT A FUCKING LIGHT?_

Okay, so looking back at the shower system and the candle, it was clear that he needed to light the candle using the stove-top, and then somehow get it through the water without getting it wet. So he went to the stove, and made several attempts; hiding the candle under his shirt, jumping over the pressure plate, and even setting a small cabinet in front of the nozzles to block the water… each attempt ending in failure. It got to the point where Ethan was so frustrated that he walked across the room, picked up the apparently full wooden barrel, and tossed it at the shower system in an attempt to break it.

The barrel missed completely, instead hitting the kitchen floor, where it broke open. A large amount of black fluid was spilled out onto the tile, where it started slowly flowing into a nearby floor drain, but this left Ethan in the same place, with nothing… until he took a closer look at the tap that had landed near his feet. In fact, it wasn't a tap at all, but a large winding key that looked… like it would fit inside the clown dummy's torso. So was that it? Was he supposed to put that creepy thing back together?

"This is fucking stupid, Lucas!" He yelled, looking around for cameras, but seeing none. "Is this what you did while Zoe went to college, huh? Sat here in your parent's barn coming up with stupid shit that'll…

" _You jus' keep focused on the game, city-boy_!" Lucas's voice yelled, interrupting him. " _Don't worry, I'll let you out after the cake is lit… let's see how much Zoe's wantin' you 'then', buddy_."

Even more frustrated now, Ethan resumed searching around the apartment, eventually coming across a wooden door that he hadn't noticed until now. It led into a sort of walk-in closet, and the first thing that he saw was a large metal valve handle hanging on the far wall. This looked like just the thing to shut off a shower system, if he could find the valve it fit onto, but it appeared that this was going to be a problem, since the handle was attached to a metal hook-ring with a large padlock.

There was no keyhole, just a set of five spinners that had letters on them instead of numbers… and there were a lot of choices, meaning that guessing the right combination was _unlikely_ at best. This whole game that Lucas rigged up was getting more and more aggravating by the second, so he took a step back to calm himself, when a sudden pop made Ethan jump. It was only then that he realized that the room's floor was covered in balloons, and now he had absolutely had it with this whole ridiculous fiasco.

" _What the fuck_?!" Ethan screamed, kicking several of the balloons. " _Lucas, I swear to Christ, I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna choke the life out of you with my bare hands, and then I'm gonna have a…_

This time stopping himself from talking, Ethan didn't even hear the bald man's reply, since he had noticed something on the floor, hidden underneath all the balloons. It was another balloon, but this one was bigger, and sturdier looking than the others. He could also feel something hard inside after reaching down to pick it up, so he bit the rubber until it tore open, revealing a… quill pen?

Yes, it was a quill pen, and attached to it toward the pointy end was something that looked like… a finger! This was it! This was what he needed in order to put that stupid clown dummy thing back together, so he left the closet, and made his way back through the kitchen, all the way back over to where the creepy thing was still sitting. The finger easily screwed into a slot on the clown's hand, tightening to where it was now holding the pen as if to write something.

The only thing left to do now was put the large winding key into the slot on its torso, and hope that the stupid thing actually did something when wound up. So he leaned forward, shoving in the key and turning it several times, causing the dummy to start twitching once the key began to turn the opposite direction. Some worn-out ice cream truck music began to play as the dummy raised the pen, and then Ethan gasped as its other arm came forward to grab his wrist.

The clown dummy's grip was incredibly strong, leaving him unable to break free as the tip on the quill pen began to spin around at high speeds as if it were a drill. Before Ethan knew what was happening, his wrist was pulled sideways, putting him so far off balance that he had to grab onto the table with his free hand, and then he shrieked when the clown dummy stabbed the drilling pen into his forearm, causing a light spray of blood as the tool started to drag across his flesh.


	27. Chapter 27 Sore Loser

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Seven: Sore Loser**

Fighting to get away from the clown dummy's grip with all his strength, there was just no escape for Ethan as the drilling quill pen continued to tear across his forearm. Suddenly it stopped for a second, pulling back the pen, and allowing him to get a better grip on the dummy's arm, but then he screamed when the drill was stabbed back into his flesh in a different spot. More blood sprayed out as this process was repeated three more times after, and just when Ethan was starting to think that the torment would never end… the grip was released.

He had been pulling back when the dummy's hand opened, causing Ethan to stumble backwards and fall to the floor while the key stopped turning, bringing an end to both the drilling and the horrible ice cream truck music. What _didn't_ end, though, was the pain in his arm, which was now actually getting _worse_ since he was no longer under attack. Cradling his arm with his other hand, but then hissing and letting go after touching it, he took a quick look at the scars the drill pen left… only to discover that they weren't random cuts at all. In fact, they were letters… letters that spelled out a single word, which read:

 _LOSER_

"Fuck you, Lucas!" Ethan screamed, kicking a nearby cabinet. "I'll _kill_ you, you piece of shit!"

" _Now, now, Ethan, let's watch the language, huh_?" Lucas's voice laughed while trying to feign seriousness. " _After all, there's children round'… at least, there was… reckon I ain't too sure no more_."

The bald man continued laughing while Ethan walked over to the shower system, using the cold water to both clean out and try to numb some of the pain in his arm. He then took off the shirt that Zoe had given him, and used it to wrap the cuts, all the while wondering what in the hell the point of it all was. Why would Lucas make that dummy thing so that it would carve a word like loser into someone's arm if… wait a second… now briefly recalling the padlock on the valve handle that he had seen in the closet, the carving actually started to make sense.

After all, to Lucas this was all just some kind of sick and twisted game, so why not give the five-letter combination to the player by _literally_ carving it into their arm? Tightening the shirt around his cuts, Ethan made his way back into the walk-in closet, and sure enough, the padlock popped open once he had set the tumblers to spell out the word _loser_. Well, now he had the valve handle, and after one more trip through the shower system, he managed to find the valve on the nearby wall where it fit onto.

The handle turned easily enough once set into place, and now the showers didn't turn on as he walked back into the kitchen to pick up the candle. Flickering brightly once again, Ethan took it into the room with the cake, and placed it into the obvious spot. For a couple seconds nothing happened, and he was just about to start screaming at Lucas again for wasting his time, when the cake exploded in his face.

Like when he had shot Travis's remains, Ethan was assaulted by a wall of force and fire, knocking him down, and spreading small flamed across the room. Scooting back over to the wall, and sitting up, he waited for something else to happen, but nothing did. The scattered flames just sort of fizzled out on their own after a couple seconds, leaving Ethan with no idea what he was supposed to do next.

"Hey, what the fuck happened?!" Lucas's voice demanded. "Why didn't the damn oil from the barrel go up?! How the fuck did you get the key?!"

For a second Ethan wasn't sure what the bald man was talking about, but then he remembered the wooden barrel that had been sitting on the table… how he had tossed it at the showers, and the black liquid poured out on the kitchen floor… _oil_! So… if he had simply removed the key, then… the oil would have leaked onto the floor… and he would have been burnt alive when the cake exploded! Ethan was never meant to get out of this room alive… so what would happen now?

" _Well, good fuckin' job, city-boy_!" Lucas's voice seethed. "But guess what… that shutter I went an' dropped gonna keep you trapped in there forever… but even if you somehow got yourself outa there, you ain't got the door code, an' I sure as hell ain't bout' to be lettin' you out anytime soon! So welcome home, buddy, cause' you're spendin' the rest of your life in there… all five minutes of it!"

There was some feedback that was probably the bald man slamming down his microphone, and Ethan was starting to get back to his feet, when a small panel in the ceiling opened… and a strange device dropped down to the floor. A device that consisted of several red colored sticks that were taped together, and attached to a monitor… a monitor blinked to life in order to show the numbers _5:00… 4:59… 4:58… 4:57…_

"Oh shit!" Ethan exclaimed, scrambling to his feet when he realized what it was. "Gotta get out… gotta get out!"

Retreating back toward the shower system, he was forced to stop when he saw that a heavy metal shutter had come down to block his path, leaving him trapped just like Lucas had said. However, when he looked down at the floor, he saw that the shutter had gotten stuck about two feet from the ground… blocked by the cabinet he had put in the way of the nozzles during his attempts to get past the showers.

Dropping onto his stomach and crawling underneath the shutter, he kicked the cabinet out of the way once he was through, allowing the shutter to come down the rest of the way in the hopes that it would somehow contain the blast. There was nowhere else that he could take cover in a small apartment like this, leaving Ethan's only option as trying to get the front door open. So he ran over to the door, and tried to force it open by ramming his shoulder into it.

This didn't work, nor did his attempts to ram the door open with the already brittle furniture that was scattered throughout the apartment. The last thing that he could think to do was pull the winding key out of the clown dummy, and use it to pry the door open, but that just resulted in the key's handle breaking off. With that shutter down, he had no way of knowing how much time was left on the bomb's times… not that he really _wanted_ to know after thinking about it… but he also didn't want to die in Lucas's apartment, so he started banging and kicking on the door.

"Zoe!" He screamed, pounding on the door. "Zoe! Mia! Eveline! _Anyone… help_! Get me out of here! Zoe! Zoe, please be somewhere nearby! Zoe, help!"

"Ethan?" A muffled voice called. "Ethan, its Zoe! Are you in there?!"

Oh, thank God, Ethan thought when he heard the short-haired woman's voice on the other side of the door. But there was no time for happiness, being that he was about to be blown up by Lucas's bomb, and this was pretty much how he explained the situation to Zoe, although he used a lot more screaming and curse words in order to show her just how desperate the situation was.

"Ethan, shut up a minute!" The short-haired woman yelled as she could be heard using the keypad. "Lucas uses the same passwords for everythin' he's got, so I jus' gotta figure out which one it is!"

Now standing there quietly and patiently, or at least as much as he could, given the situation, Ethan was filled with hope as he heard her push a series of button… but then the hope faded when the sequence was ended with her saying _damn_. So she tried again, and Ethan knew that this time she would get it right… only to have his mouth run dry the next time she said _damn_.

There couldn't have been much time left on the bomb, and Ethan's legs were shaking as he tried to count the passing seconds in his head… but then Zoe's next attempt ended with a loud _beep_. The lock on the door was released with a hard _click_ , and he shoved it open as quickly as he could, nearly knocking the short-haired woman down as he ran out into the hallway. For a second he found himself wondering just how much time was left before the bomb exploded, but these thoughts were interrupted when the bomb exploded.

The whole barn seemed to shake for a second, and part of the wall was blown outward, throwing Ethan and Zoe off their feet as the lights flickered. They were showered with drywall dust and wood splinters, but then everything stopped, allowing him to sit up and see through the wall that the entire apartment had been pulverized. If Zoe hadn't been outside looking for him when she had, Ethan would have died, so he hugged the short-haired woman just as she was sitting up, giving her a kiss on the forehead, and then hugging her some more.

"Geez, I missed you too, Ethan." Zoe said, forcing an end to their hug. "But right now we gotta get that stuff to make the serum back from Lucas… and I suppose we oughta be rescuin' Mia, too."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right." Ethan replied, coughing up some dust and wiping off his face. "Do you have _any_ idea where your brother might be? Where he watches the cameras, and controls all this… stupid shit from?"

The short-haired woman nodded, before pointing further down the hallway, and they were just getting to their feet, when she stopped. Instead of going the way she pointed, Zoe climbed in through the blown-out section of the wall, back into the apartment. Still coughing up dust, Ethan tried to call out to her, but only coughed again, so he simply followed her back through the wreckage into the room where the cake and bomb had been sitting.

However, a sizeable chunk of the back wall had been destroyed as well, allowing the two of them to climb through into room that was in just as bad of shape as the apartment. The furniture, some chairs and a large desk, had been almost completely destroyed by the collapsing walls, and as Ethan looked around, he could see what remained of some broken security monitors, as well as a microphone stand, and even some burnt-out switches.

"Well, that's Lucas for you." Zoe said, looking around the debris. "Dumb fuck was so set on takin' you out, that he nearly went an' took himself out with you… must've gone through _there_."

The only visible exit from this control room was a metal door that had nearly been blasted off its hinges, and it was hanging open, since the doorframe was too bent for it to close completely. There was also no sign of Mia in this room, so the bald man must've taker her with him. Hopefully there weren't any more _games_ for Lucas to play with them, since his control room was a total loss, so the only thing left to do was go through the door after him.

It was time to take Lucas Baker down, to stop him from _ever_ doing something like this to anyone ever again… and to make him pay for _everything_ that he had done to Mia.


	28. Chapter 28 The Boathouse

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Eight: The Boathouse**

Expecting to have to navigate more of the barn's labyrinth of hallways and _game rooms_ , Ethan was pleasantly surprised when, after only walking down a single short hallway, the next door led him and Zoe back outside. It was still raining heavily, so the two of them were almost immediately soaked, although it _did_ feel nice to have the blood and drywall dust washed off so that he wasn't constantly coughing or smelling rust all the time.

"Lucas must've taken her to the boat house." Zoe said, wiping the rain from her eyes. "C'mon, we gotta go get Mia fore' that dipshit figures out he's cornered, and does somethin' dumb."

After already seeing what Lucas was capable of, Ethan didn't bother saying anything in response, instead just following the short-haired woman as she started jogging away from the barn, leading him in the opposite direction from where the houses and her trailer were located. It was nice to be moving further away from the main Baker estate, but as another large building came into view, a sinking feeling started to form in Ethan's stomach, since every building he had been into had been progressively worse.

The full moon must've been really bright, since it illuminated the landscape even through the cloud cover, and Ethan could see that the boathouse had been built right over the water. This made sense, being that it was called _the boathouse_ , but light was coming through the windows… hopefully Lucas hadn't modified this place like he had done to the barn, because honestly the only reason Ethan was still alive right now was because of dumb luck.

"Okay, he's probably got her up in the watch room." Zoe said as they reached the building and hid next to the wall. "If we're _real_ lucky he's up there thinkin' we died in the blast, so let's creep on up there, then you hit'em with somethin' while I free Mia."

"Zoe, hold on." He replied, stopping her when she started toward the open window. "Lucas has the gun I got from Deputy Anderson; I want you to stay down here while I go after Lucas, I just… I don't want anything to happen to you."

The short-haired woman then gave him the same look that lots of other women had given him during his attempts to be chivalrous; being happy that he cared about them, while at the same time wanting him to recognize that they were just as capable as any man when it came to certain things. Of course, those things usually covered activities like holding the door open or carrying heavy things… not borderline-supernatural hostage situations.

"Look, Zoe, I'm not saying that you're not capable." He continued, trying not to offend her further. "I just really care about you, and…

"Mia's lucky she got a man like you." Zoe interrupted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But I see how you go bout' handlin' Lucas on your own… no offense, Ethan, but you need me."

Ethan had to admit that his track-record for confronting the bald man was less than stellar… since he had fallen right into every single one of Lucas's traps. Of course, there was no more time to think about that, when Zoe suddenly gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before easily climbing into the boathouse through the open window. There was no choice but to follow her, even though getting through the window wasn't as easy for Ethan because of his sore arm, and once inside, Ethan found that the entire first floor of the building was a single open room.

There was a wide dock around three sides where people could walk, but the center was open water, which was only a couple feet deep, judging by the parts of sunken fishing boats that were sticking up past the surface. Zoe, however, was already creeping up the nearby staircase which led to a sectioned-off area that reminded him of a factory manager's office. He wanted to call out to her, to get her to wait for him, but there was no way to do that without alerting Lucas to their presence, so all he could do was follow her up through the open door at the top.

"He ain't here." Zoe said after walking into the office. "Ethan, it's fine, Lucas ain't here."

"What do you mean, he's not there?" He asked, honestly confused. "Where the hell else could he have gone?"

Moving up the stairs a lot faster now, Ethan entered the room at the top, and the first thing he saw was that she was right… Lucas Baker was nowhere to be found. Mia was there, however, sitting on the floor, handcuffed to an exposed pipe, and he was about to try and free her, when the sound of a small motor reached his ears when it started up. It was coming from outside, so he and Zoe moved over to the window just in time to see a small fishing boat take off across the water.

"It's Lucas!" Zoe exclaimed. "But… where the hell's he goin'?"

"So long, you fuckin' losers!" Lucas's voice called as the boat got farther away. "Good luck gettin' away without the… without the… aw, fuck! Goddamn it… well, it won't do ya'll no good no how once Eveline finishes her nap! So have fun, you buncha' fuckin'…

The rest of his words became incoherent as the boat vanished into the darkness of the bayou, allowing Ethan to return his attention to freeing Mia. There were several tools lying around the room, so it only took a few seconds for him to find a pair of bolt cutters, and these ones weren't even rusty like the ones he had used to open the cell door in that first house. These handcuffs were a bit sturdier than the rusted padlock had been, so he had time to think about a couple things while trying to break them.

"Don't worry, Mia, I'll have you free in a second." He said, stopping to adjust his grip on the cutters. "Yep… just a second."

The first thought was how Lucas managed to leave the property without using the serum that Zoe was looking for, since he seriously doubted that the bald man was smart enough to make it on his own. According to the short-haired woman, the last infected person that tried to leave was almost instantly killed, although she had never gone into details about it. The second was that even if they got the serum and escaped… what stopped Eveline from coming after them?

"I can't believe this." Zoe said excitedly as the handcuffs broke. "That fuckin' moron left it here… the stuff to make the serum… it's all here."

Not really focusing on what the short-haired woman was doing, Ethan released Mia's hands, and then knelt down to hold her. She was alive, and didn't seem to be in any worse condition than the rest of them, so he just held her, kissing his wife on top of the head, and then squeezing her tightly while Zoe started doing something with the green case and some other items that, well… he didn't really want to see those things up close anyway.

The short-haired woman was talking to herself, first reading the plate that Ethan had seen before, and then mumbling some scientific sounding things that he didn't understand, trying to make sense of the sequencer that had been built in. A few seconds later Zoe let out an excited giggle as the machine came to life, and then about a minute later it stopped. Ethan was just happy to have finally freed Mia from Lucas, and since Eveline was apparently still napping, this gave them all a chance to get away… as long as the serum worked, that is.

"We're in luck, Ethan." Zoe said happily as she walked over to them, carrying two large syringes of an _awful_ looking brown liquid. "There's enough for two, so go head' an' roll up Mia's sleeve for me. Mia? Mia, darlin', I'm gonna give you a shot now, and it's gonna make you feel…

"He's coming!" Mia suddenly exclaimed, nearly knocking the syringes out of Zoe's hand when she flailed her arms. "Daddy's coming! Ethan, run… don't you hear me? Daddy's coming! He's close, you have to run, _now_!"

"Daddy?" Ethan asked, trying to restrain her. "Mia, do you mean Jack? Jack's dead, honey, I… I cut him in half with a chainsaw. He can't hurt you anymore… neither can Lucas, okay? You're safe now, and you, me, and Zoe are all getting out of…

Mia suddenly screamed, pushing away from Ethan as she scooted back to the far wall, and he was about to go after her, when he realized that Zoe was looking scared of something as well. The short-haired woman grabbed Ethan's hand while staring wide-eyed at something behind him, so he turned around, and got the same expression on his face when he saw what looked like a… gigantic monstrous face looking in at them through the window… the interior window… meaning that it was as tall as the second floor.

Easily taking up the whole row of windows, the monster's eyes were an almost glowing combination of red and yellow, and its skin was black, just like the mold that had wrapped around the smaller creatures after it had hardened. It was strange how every time Ethan thought he had seen everything in this place, the Baker family always managed to throw some kind of insane curveball, but this… this was just _insane_.

For a moment he wondered if he was really seeing the monster at all, or if he had finally cracked and this was some kind of horrific hallucination… but then the monster swung its arm at the window, pulverizing the entire wall, and a good section of the floor, confirming just how real this thing was, when Ethan found himself falling down onto the wrap-around dock on the first floor. This also allowed him to get a better look at the creature, and on top of being huge and disgusting, it was also covered with… eyes?

" _Zoe, you little fuckin' brat_!" The monster scolded in a booming version of Jack's voice, looking at the two women cowering in the corner of what was left of the upstairs office. " _You an' Mia get your asses on back to the house… I'll deal with you later_."

The eyes on the monster's lower body then turned toward Ethan just as he was starting to get up… followed by the main face, and he wondered just how in the hell he was going to get out of this one, as the monster came back down to the first floor.


	29. Chapter 29 Jack's Revenge

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Twenty Nine: Jack's Revenge**

" _Now, jus' where do ya think you're goin', son_?" The creature asked, watching as Ethan moved around the walkway. " _You don't really think you're gonna get away from me, do ya_?"

Ethan had to admit that escape _actually_ was his plan… or at least, it _had_ been until the monster swung its gigantic body so that it was now blocking the nearest window. The good news, however, was that Mia and Zoe had managed to get out of the office via what was left of the stairs, and were now creeping toward the door. He felt some relief in knowing that both of them were safe, at least for the moment… but the Jack-creature was now slowly advancing toward him, causing that relief to be short-lived.

" _Bet you figured I was dead, huh_?" The creature continued as Ethan backed away. " _So, what was the plan, city-boy? Cuttin' ol' Jack in half with a chainsaw, burnin' poor Marguerite to ashes, and then hopin' Eveline lets you be her new daddy? You'd have a right nice setup here with Mia and Zoe round', but… hate to tell you this, son, but bigamy's illegal in this state_."

Suddenly the monster swung its body around so that it landed on the walkway, completely destroying every board that it landed on, so Ethan turned heel and ran the other way, only to have the creature swing around again, destroying that path as well. It laughed at him while Ethan looked around desperately for a way out, and then with a mighty roar it destroyed the rest of the surface that he was standing on.

Turning away from the beast and jumping wildly, Ethan was sure that he was going to end up in the water when the entire walkway was just… _swatted_ away by the monster's body, but thankfully the boathouse's interior walls were made up of exposed 2x4 planks. This gave him something to grab onto so that he didn't have to sink into the bayou, and it also allowed him to climb upward. Of course, by the time he was about halfway up the wall, the Jack-creature was quite literally right on top of him.

" _We opened our home to you, Ethan_." It scolded, wrapping its huge hand around his torso, and pulling him from the wall. " _You could've been one of us, but it's the greed that done got you, son. You wanted to be Eveline's daddy, an' you wanted my Zoe all for yourself, but then you went and got greedy, wantin' to get back with your ex as well. See, its them hormones, makin' you all hot-headed… got me a cure for that, though_."

Before Ethan could do or say anything, the monster tossed him away from the wall, and this time where was nothing to stop him from hitting the water with a hard _splash_. He had already known that the water was shallow, but the submerged ground was nothing but muck and mud, causing his feet to start sinking the moment they hit. Now struggling to get his head back above water, Ethan tried to swim while kicking his feet, but that only seemed to make him sink faster.

Trying to push off the ground with his arms didn't seem like a very smart idea, and the only other thing her could feel with his hands was one of the half-sunken fishing boats, so he grabbed onto the side of it, but feeling the board loosen when he started to pull. Suddenly the huge hand returned, breaking through the water before grabbing onto him once again, and the board Ethan had been holding onto broke off in his hands when he was lifted back up to the surface.

" _That's better, huh_?" It asked once Ethan was no longer submerged. " _Mind gettin' all clear, disrespectful thoughts bout' Zoe and Mia coolin' down? I understand how you feel, son; see, Marguerite had this cousin, Sarah her name was, and truth be told, I was always wantin' both of'em… course' never happened… damn same, too, cause' this girl had a rack on her you wouldn't believe, and… anyway, you disrespected my daughter, and now I'm gonna kill ya_."

The creature laughed while he coughed and choked, bringing him right up to its face, but then the laughter became a surprised, angry roar when Ethan blindly stabbed the sharp end of the board right into its face. The splintered point was jammed deeply into one of the Jack-creature's main eyes, causing it to jump backwards while tossing him away, and now Ethan's scream joined with the creature's as he flew toward the wall. Covering his head with his arms, he waited for the impact… but it never came.

Instead of crashing into the wall, the creature had tossed him at too low an angle, and by some miracle Ethan sailed right through the open window that he had originally been trying to escape through. This didn't mean that hitting the ground outside didn't hurt, since the rain-soaked grass and uneven ground below were _a lot_ harder than the shallow water of the bayou, and Ethan felt like he was going to pass out after finally sliding to a stop. This time, however, it was a lot harder for him to get up than before… and now the hand was grabbing him once again!

Wait… no… it wasn't the huge hand of that Jack-abomination that was grabbing him… it was regular size arms… _human_ arms. Apparently Mia and Zoe had seem him crash, ran over to help, and now the two of them were trying to drag him to safety before the monster broke its way out of the boathouse. Not that there was anywhere they could run to… what they needed was a weapon… but all the guns and blades had been lost or destroyed… although Zoe seemed to have a different idea.

"Wait a second, why are you giving me this?" Ethan asked when she pushed one of the syringes into his hand. "Hold on… don't tell me you want to waste this stuff on _him_?! Why should _he_ get the cure?!"

"You got a better idea?" The short-haired woman replied. "But it ain't gonna cure him… that plate in the box said the serum's for low level infection only… but is _that_ lookin' _anythin'_ to you like a damn _low level_ infection? Jus' wait till he's close, and then…

Suddenly the entire back wall of the boathouse exploded outward, raining splintered wood and tarpaper all around them as the monster pursued. The Jack-creature was now screaming its rage as it crawled across the grass, giving Mia and Zoe no choice but to save themselves by running away. Mia was still pretty well out of it, meaning that the short-haired woman had to just about drag her away when she started to spout more nonsense.

" _Good distance, huh_?" The monster asked as it reached where he was lying. " _Bein' honest, you was supposed to splat on the wall like a bug on the windshield, but that's okay, son. Jus' means I'll get to hear you screamin' while I bite your scrawny little body in half_."

He had been trying to crawl away, but there was just no escaping the monster this time, and soon Ethan found himself being lifted off the ground once again. Jack also seemed to be done talking, bringing Ethan toward his hideous and deformed mouth, giving his captive no choice but to go with Zoe's plan. Once the Jack-creature's mouth was open all the way, Ethan stabbed the syringe up into his gums above the teeth, and pushed the plunger down as hard as he could.

The effect was nearly instantaneous; the grip around Ethan's torso releasing so that he fell to the ground while the abomination roared. Of course, now its body was starting to change, slowly becoming stiff and hard, while being coated with the same whiteness that he had seen cover Marguerite back in the greenhouse. The creature stopped roaring as the whiteness continued to spread, and again just like with Marguerite, Jack had regained a kind of clarity in his remaining eye.

" _Oh, that's nice… real nice_." The creature struggled to say. " _Looks like you're sendin' me to my maker, son… the nightmare's endin'. I won't ask you to forgive me, Ethan… but we was good folks once… fore' Eveline… see this, what's happenin' to me, boy? Don't let it happen to my Zoe… promise me… please, promise me_."

"I promise, Jack." Ethan replied, trying to catch his breath as the whiteness finished spreading. "I promise that I'll get Zoe _and_ Mia out of this."

The creature struggled to make one final move with its face, which might have been the start of a smile, but then it was over. Just like with Marguerite, Jack Baker was now little more than a statue, and the falling rain made it collapse that much faster. Cracks quickly formed all across its body, spreading and deepening until pieces started to fall off, and each one shattered on the ground until there was nothing left but a pile of white rubble… that was being melted into the ground by the rain.

Well, the danger was over, at least for now, allowing Ethan the time that he needed to pull himself to his feet… a task that was not as easy as one would think. Starting with an awkward kind of crawl, then moving up to his hands and knees, and finally working his way into a stumble, Ethan slowly made his way around the far side of the boathouse, where he had seen the others heading.

He could see them in the glow from one of the boathouse's few remaining floodlights; Mia was sitting down, leaning against one of the supports at the beginning of a short dock, and Zoe was standing near her, leaning on another support with her arms folded. The nice thing about all this, besides all three of them still being alive after everything that happened, was now that Jack was dead and Lucas was… wherever the hell he went… they were safe… until Eveline finished her nap.

"Are you two all right?" Ethan asked, leaning on the boathouse wall once he reached them. "Zoe, are you okay? How's Mia?"

"We ain't hurt, Ethan, but there's a problem." Zoe replied, walking over to him and holding out the remaining syringe. "We only got _one_ dose left."

No, there couldn't only be a _single_ dose of the serum left, Ethan thought as he took the syringe. There just _couldn't_ … having read the instructions on the plate, himself, he knew that each syringe contained enough for a _single_ person, and if there was only one left, that meant that… he could only save _one_ of them? Zoe seemed to understand what was happening, and after taking a quick look at Mia, the short-haired woman started to cry; choking back the tears as she confronted what was clearly an obvious choice for Ethan.

"What are… what are we gonna do now, Ethan?" Zoe asked as a tear ran down her cheek.


	30. Chapter 30 The Only Way

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty: The Only Way**

So there he was… standing on the edge of the dock behind what was left of the boathouse, finally free of the more unstable members of the Baker family, at least for the moment… and enough of the mysterious _serum_ in his hand to save one person from Eveline's strange infection. Up until this point, Ethan had believed that dealing with Jack, Marguerite, and Lucas had been the hardest part of this nightmare that he was enduring… but how was he supposed to choose who to use the serum on?

The most obvious choice was Mia Winters, who was after all, still his wife. Ethan's whole life had fallen apart three years ago when she vanished, and he had only just been getting used to the idea that she was gone, when that strange email appeared. Giving her the serum meant that they could start their lives over, and maybe even be happy again… after the _years_ of therapy they were both going to need. The important thing was that they could be together again, and he just hoped that they were strong enough to get through it together.

And then there was Zoe Baker… the woman who had saved his life on several occasions, and as far as Ethan could tell, the only one around who hadn't actually tried to kill him. This brought up another worry that he had about Mia; he had watched her kill Travis with that chainsaw, and she had tried to kill him as well… so would there be any lingering effects? Or was his best bet to give Zoe the serum, and… he couldn't deny that he had feelings for her… so was it time to leave Mia behind and start a new life… with Zoe?

No, this was stupid, Ethan thought as he started pacing back and forth. There had to be another way, there just _had_ to be… of course… the syringe in his hand was pretty big… and there was an awful lot of the serum inside it. Suddenly an idea popped into his head, and it gave him the third option that he needed, but it was risky. So risky, in fact, that if he tried it and something went wrong, he could end up losing _both_ of them. Still, it was better than the other two choices.

"Mia, let me see your arm." He said, kneeling down and gently taking her forearm. "This might sting for a second."

Zoe turned away, crying more intensely as Ethan stuck the needle into Mia's arm, and then he started to push the plunger down. However, he stopped once it was halfway gone, pulled the needle out of his wife's arm, and put into Zoe's. The short-haired woman had gasped when he took her arm, and looked like she was in shock while Ethan pushed the plunger the rest of the way down, putting the other half of the serum into her blood.

"You… you gave me half?" She asked in disbelief once he removed the needle. "But… how'd you know it'll even _work_ like that?"

"I _don't_ , Zoe." Ethan replied, tossing the syringe into the water. "But I'm not going to just _sit_ here and abandon one of you."

He had expected her tears to stop once she realized that they were all going to escape together, but instead the short-haired woman just started crying more as she rushed forward and hugged him tightly. Ethan hugged her back, truly happy that he had found a possible way to free both of them from Eveline, and Zoe started to say something, when her stomach rumbled loud enough for him to hear as well as _feel_ during the hug. She was also getting warmer, with flushing cheeks and starting to visibly sweat in spite of the rain.

"Are you okay, Zoe?" He asked as they separated. "What's wrong?"

"Ethan, I don't… oh, my stomach." She groaned, holding her stomach as she backed away. "I think I'm gonna… oh, God, I'm gonna…

Suddenly rushing over to the edge of the dock, Zoe fell to her hands and knees, before vomiting harshly into the bayou's water. Ethan's first instinct was to look away, since the sight of people getting sick like that had always bothered him, but then he stopped when he realized that it was _black_. Stopping for a second to gasp for breath, the short-haired woman wretched before vomiting some more, and he couldn't help but notice how much it looked like the liquefied form of Eveline's black mold.

It just kept coming, and coming, the black substance flowing from her mouth in amounts that Ethan couldn't believe could be stored inside someone Zoe's size, but then the flow started to wane. She wretched a couple more times, spitting out a little more of the black substance, and then fell over onto her side, coughing like she had just been hit with _tear gas_. He wanted to kneel down and comfort her, but she just held up her hand and shook her head, probably worried that there was more to come.

"Ethan?" Mia's voice asked from behind.

It was probably best to give Zoe some time to recover from what he assumed was the serum doing that _detoxification_ thing, so Ethan turned around, and found his wife on her feet. She looked worn out, but the glaze had faded from her eyes, and so far she hadn't attacked him, which he took as a good sign. Mia was still a little shaky as she walked toward him, but he didn't mind holding onto her, and it felt like they were about to hug, when Ethan realized that she was now staring down at the still coughing Zoe.

"Ethan, did you… divide the dose?" She asked, concern filling her eyes when she looked back at him. "You can't _divide_ a single dose, it doesn't _work_ that way!"

"I couldn't think of anything else to do, Mia." Ethan tried to explain. "But I'm not about to just sit here and leave one of you…

His words were interrupted as her stomach rumbled just as loudly as Zoe's had done, and a moment later Mia was on her hands and knees at the edge of the dock. She coughed and wretched several times before the black substance started to come out, but something was different… the liquefied mold was coming out, but not _nearly_ in the amount that there had been for Zoe. Mia struggled with it for a time, and then there didn't seem to be any more, but how was that possible? His wife had been infected for just as long, if not longer than the Baker family, so why did barely mold any come out?

From what the short-haired-woman had told him before, the more injuries that Eveline's _gift_ helped someone recover from, the higher the level of infection, and from what Ethan had seen, Mia had been suffering _a lot_ more than Zoe over the past three years, so maybe the serum was just taking longer to work. Either way, what was done was done, and now he knelt down with Mia as she sat up against one of the supports. Strange… she wasn't warm or sweating like Zoe, either, but…

"I read the instructions, I _know_ a single dose is for one person." He explained, pushing her long hair back over her shoulders when she coughed again. "But how would _you_ feel if you were in my position; only being able to save one of you, and leave the other one here all scared and alone? What if I had chosen Zoe, and left _you_ here? I _could've_ , you know."

"I know _why_ you did it, Ethan." Mia replied, wiping off her mouth with her arm. "You're a good man, but… no one knows what half a dose will do, if it even _does_ anything… I just hope it works… for _all_ our sakes."

By this time Zoe was starting to move around again, so he went back to check on her, helping the short-haired woman to lean up against one of the supports like Mia was doing. She coughed again, but her body wasn't as warm now, and the sweating had stopped. Her breathing was returning to normal as well, but instead of trying to rest, she pointed toward the far end of the dock.

"There should be some boats left." She explained, coughing again. "Help me up, Ethan… we need to get movin'… gotta get the hell outta here fore' Eveline wakes up."

He knew that she was right, and Ethan doubted that the little girl would be very happy about the two of them being cured, so he helped Zoe to her feet. She was a little shaky as well, and who wouldn't be after puking up five gallons of mold? So he helped her first, letting the short-haired woman lean on him as they made their way down to the far end of the dock, where sure enough, there was a small fishing boat.

After helping her sit down inside it, Ethan went back for Mia, helping her up, and guiding her back to the boat, where Zoe was already trying to start the motor. The short-haired woman seemed to be having trouble with it; the pull-start ripping itself out of her hands while she leaned on the motor, coughing again, so once Mia was seated, he helped Zoe sit down again as well. The two of them didn't look too happy to be sitting so near to each other, but Ethan had bigger things to worry about, starting with the motor.

There was plenty of fuel inside when he checked the tank, and the kill switch was in the right position, so he grabbed the pull-start and, well, pulled… only to have it rip itself out of his hands shortly after moving. Grabbing his hand, and trying not to cry out in pain, while also ignoring Zoe's giggles that of course came along with a _city-boy_ comment, he took hold of the pull-start and tried again.

This time it worked; the motor firing up, and hopefully the girls not noticing that he had nearly fallen backwards onto them in the process. The only thing left to do now was to untie the rope that held them to the dock, and leave the Baker estate behind forever. As far as Ethan was concerned, Eveline could have it… at least until they contacted the authorities, and they sent in… well, who the hell was even _qualified_ to deal with someone like Eveline? The _FBI_? The _Army_?

Whoever was sent in to clean up this mess, it would be _their_ problem from now on, so Ethan untied the boat, and then twisted the throttle, causing them to start moving away. Well, the good news was that they were now moving away from the Baker estate, and even better, this God damn rain was finally stopping… however, when Ethan turned around to make sure the motor was still good, he saw something that made him gasp.

There was a figure standing on the edge of the dock, watching them as they got further away… no, not standing… it was Granny Baker, sitting on her wheelchair. For a moment Ethan felt bad about leaving the helpless old woman there alone with Eveline… but then again, the only one who could have possibly moved her all the way down to the docks like that… was _Eveline_. So Ethan twisted the throttle harder, hoping to get well beyond the little girl's reach before anything else happened.


	31. Chapter 31 No Escape

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty One: No Escape**

The rain was finally letting up, the heavy drops of water slowly thinning before coming to a stop completely a couple minutes after Ethan and the others had left the Baker estate behind. He took this as a good sign, hoping that the worst part of this whole nightmare was behind them, and now it seemed that all they had to do was navigate their way out of the bayou. It was going to be so nice to get away from the whole Dulvey area, and also out of Louisiana completely… back to Texas, where things actually made sense.

Of course, along with the prospect of getting back to normal civilization, there were several more factors to consider. Firstly, Eveline couldn't just be left there to continue infecting people who wandered onto the Baker estate, so the question was once again brought up as to who in the hell he could even report all this too. Could he even tell the truth without sounding crazy? Or should he just blame all the murders on Lucas? That would definitely keep him out of the _loony bin_ , but if no one was warned about Eveline, then whoever was sent to investigate would probably end up like the Bakers.

Second, Ethan would have to find a way to explain what happened to Travis, preferably _without_ including the part about Mia running him through with a chainsaw… and this led him to the last problem. The good news was that he had managed to escape with both Mia _and_ Zoe, but… now what the hell was he supposed to do? Even if the serum cleared Mia's mind, she would no doubt need all kinds of therapy and such after spending three solid years with the Baker family… and what was to be done with Zoe? The short-haired woman had lost everything, and he couldn't just abandon her.

"Ethan… thank you." Zoe said as the boat moved through the trees that were sticking out of the water. "You could'a jus' saved Mia and moved on, but… I'm glad you're tryin' to help both of us."

"I just hope you know what you're doing, Ethan." Mia added, looking at both of them. "We don't even know if that serum _worked_ at half-doses… and if it didn't, then we'll _all_ die because _you_ couldn't leave _her_ behind."

"Damn it, Mia, I did the only thing I could." Ethan replied, turning the boat to avoid more trees. "I know you've been through a lot, but so has Zoe… I couldn't leave _her_ behind any more than I could leave _you_ , Mia… I care about both of you."

"I care bout' you too, Ethan." Zoe said, folding her arms. "And least' you know _I_ won't go tryin' to cut off your arm with a damn chainsaw."

"Fuck you, Zoe!" Mia yelled as the boat came to the edge of a clearing. "You barely got infected at all, and Eveline turned your God damn brother loose on me from day one just because I wouldn't…

His wife suddenly fell silent as she turned her head to look at something, and soon Zoe was just as speechless when she saw the same thing. Not wanting any more surprises to jump out at him, Ethan turned his head to see what they were looking at, and gasped when he saw what looked like a large cargo ship. It was tilted heavily to the side, clearly having run aground at some point, and from all the rust and plants starting to grow all over it, this did not happen recently. Large sections of the hull also seemed to be missing, having either rusted off or maybe simply been broken during the crash, when…

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted when the boat shook violently, and then the motor bogged down as if the rotors had become caught in something, struggling to keep working until finally stalling out. Ethan pulled on the starter a couple times while Mia and Zoe looked around for the source of the shaking, but none of them had any success. This left them drifting in the middle of the clearing, with no feasible way to get the boat moving again short of getting in the water and pushing… and no one was about to do that.

"What is that?!" Zoe demanded in a frightened voice as the boat shook again. "What's happening?!"

"It's… it's Eveline!" Mia yelled, putting a hand on her forehead as if she was in pain. "She doesn't… she doesn't want us to leave!"

Ethan was about to tell them both just how little he cared about what the hell Eveline wanted, when something moved at the edge of what he could see across the bayou. No, not simply moving, but rising up out of the water like black gooselands being exposed when the tide went down. But the tide wasn't going down… and the exposed land was now sticking even further out of the water, looking more like a collection of tentacles reaching toward the sky… and then he smelled it… the unforgettable odor of the black mold.

His mind was just starting to register that the approaching substance was the same hardening mold that Eveline commanded, when the next portion to rise up out of the water struck the boat. It came up from underneath with so much force that the wooden frame was shattered as they were tipped over backwards. The next thing Ethan knew, he was underwater, losing sight of Mia and Zoe as he tried to get back to the surface, but then he felt something wrap around his waist. It pulled him backwards so hard that he was forced to exhale the small amount of air that he had managed to hold before going under.

Trying not to breathe in as he was dragged through the murky water was nearly impossible, and the effort must have caused him to black out, because when he opened his eyes, Ethan was no longer being pulled, nor was he underwater. He was lying face down on solid ground, coughing violently so that the bayou water he had swallowed was spilled back onto the mud. Making an attempt to get up, but failing miserably, Ethan was content to rest for the time being, when he thought he heard someone calling his name. However, he was just starting to try and turn toward the voice, when the ground underneath him came alive.

It was the mold again, oozing up around him in its liquid form, and then solidifying so that he was completely engulfed before… pulling him downward? He couldn't move, see, or even breathe as the black substance carried him down… but down to where? He got his answer when the mold suddenly released him, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, and allowing him fell onto… metal? Yes, it was a metal grated surface that he had landed on, and there was a dim yellowish-orange glow from industrial looking light fixtures mounted along the top of the wall, near the ceiling.

Wherever the black mold had taken him, it was a vast metal chamber, and the dim light also allowed him to see that there were large machines spaced out throughout the room, although they were cold, and covered with mold and moss from lack of use. It took some effort, but Ethan was able to get to his hands and knees, only to gasp as he saw that he was not alone… someone was standing right in front of him. His eyes started at her black boots, then moved up to her exposed knees, grey dress, long black hair, and finally the smiling face of…

"Eveline!" Ethan exclaimed, falling backwards and then awkwardly scooting away. "Get away from me!"

He only got as far as the guardrail, not wanting to risk falling beyond it since he couldn't see what was below, and then his mouth ran dry when he looked back and saw that the little girl was already standing over him. Not sure what he should do, or rather what he _could_ do in this situation, Ethan found himself just sitting there against the guardrail while Eveline knelt down to be at his eye-level. The little girl then smiled sweetly as she turned and sat down against the guardrail right next to him, finally grabbing his arm and lifting it so that his arm was around her shoulders.

"We have to be close if you're going to be my daddy, Ethan." Eveline said, moving closer to him. "I can't feel Lucas anymore, so you must have killed him… but now I can be your daughter, and we'll be a family… you, me, and… that's funny… I still don't know who's going to be my new mommy."

"Let them go, Eveline, please." Ethan replied, still unable to find a way out of this. "If you let Mia and Zoe get away, I'll… I'll…

Instead of finishing that statement, he moved his arm so that it was looped around the little girl's neck instead of her shoulders, and then he squeezed. He seemed to have caught her by surprise, so Ethan put all of his remaining strength into this sleeper-hold, pulling the little girl so she was almost lying across his lap, and putting his other arm behind her neck in order to push. She might have been able to infect people, and create monsters, but Eveline was still a little girl, so if he could only…

For a moment he genuinely thought his plan was going to work, but then Eveline simply threw up her arm so that the back of her fist hit Ethan in the face. Somehow there was enough force in her small fist to not only make the back of his head hit the guardrail behind him with an echoing _tink_ , but also to make him lose his grip on her completely. Sliding out of his grip and jumping to his feet, the little girl backhanded him as she spun around, causing him to spit out blood.

He might have fallen over, but Eveline grabbed him by the hair, making him cry out as she forced him back into his sitting position. She then pressed her other forearm into his throat, not enough to stop him from breathing, but certainly enough to make him gag and cough. Apparently this girl was a lot stronger than she looked, since his attempts to push her away failed, and then his efforts were stopped completely when Eveline forced him to look up at her… and the whole room felt like it was starting to shake.

His eyes were hurting again, as if straining to see something that was there, but at the same time really wasn't, and both of these feelings continued to get worse the longer Ethan was forced to look into her eyes. In fact, something really strange was happening… it was like a second, blurry image was being overlaid onto what was in front of him, and this overlaid image became clearer until he could see the outside world.

"I know you're just confused, _daddy_." Eveline said as the overlaid image became sharper. "You think I'm just a little brat, and everyone else is _perfect_ , don't you? The doctors made me strong enough to break your neck, but I want us to be a family, so I'm going to make you _see_ … I'm going to make you see what _really_ happened, and then you're gonna choose who's gonna be my mommy. Now _watch_ , Ethan!"

The overlaid image continued to intensify until Ethan could hardly see the little girl anymore, and then he noticed that the image was moving. It was like watching a movie, or playing one of those _first-person_ video games… he could see the bayou and the old ship as someone slowly moved toward it. That person then just happened to look down into a small puddle of standing water… and it was _Mia's_ face that was reflected back.


	32. Chapter 32 All Aboard

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Two: All Aboard**

The attack from the moldy substance had come so quickly that there was no time to react, causing the boat to capsize as it was thrown backwards through the air. Losing sight of the others in the dark, murky waters of the bayou, there was nothing that could be done aside from swimming back to the surface, and that first breath was a mixture of choking and coughing when Mia Winters got there.

Even though the serum had improved things, her head was still a bit muddled as she swam for the first dry land that she saw, crawling her way up onto the muddy banks, and hoping that the haze would continue to fade from her mind. It was so hard to remember anything that had happened before coming to the Baker estate; her life with Ethan, how she had gotten there in the first place, or even how she had come to know Eveline felt like a mystery. Still, it seemed like for now at least, she was in control of herself again, and now that she looked around for a second, she realized that she had crawled onto shore right next to the wrecked ship.

"Ethan?" She called, coughing up some more water. "Zoe?"

There was still no sign of the others, so once she caught her breath, Mia put her hand on the ship's rusting hull in order to pull herself to her feet. Calling out for the others again, but hearing no reply, she thought that maybe they had washed up near another part of the ship, so she started walking. Although on dry land, the mud was heavily saturated with water, making her feet sink down a few inches with each step, and nearly making her fall several times.

Although aground and rusting, the ship seemed mostly intact, giving her something to hold onto as she made her away around the starboard side, and it was there that she discovered two things. The first was a rope ladder that appeared to have been lowered a long time ago from the deck way above, probably when the crew abandoned ship… and the second was a lone figure lying on the ground nearby. It was a person, face-down in the mud, but they were moving a little, and it took Mia a second to realize that it was Ethan.

"Ethan!" She called, her feet sinking more when she tried to rush toward him. "Ethan, are you all right?! Ethan, can you hear…

Her words and movements both stopped as the muddy terrain around him suddenly came to life, erupting upwards, and leaving the heavy scent of black mold when it engulfed him. Less than two seconds later Ethan's body was fully encased, and then the hardened black substance burrowed its way back into the ground… taking Ethan down with it. The tunnel that it created collapsed immediately as it went through, filling back up with mud and water so that Mia couldn't follow.

"You're wasting your time, Mia." A voice said, stopping her as she looked for a way to go after him. "Ethan's mine now."

Even though she had already known that the voice belonged to Eveline, it was still a shock to see the little girl standing there on the other side of the hole when she looked up. During the time of her infection, it had been hard to truly _feel_ anything, with the moldy substance attacking her mind, and Lucas Baker paying so much… _special_ attention to her over the last couple years, but now… now that Mia's mind was clearing up… she was afraid.

"Don't be scared, Mia." The little girl continued with a smile. "I don't want you dead… liars don't get off that easily, and I can't infect you again without killing you until the serum runs its course. So is it working? I can still feel you, so who knows? I remember one of the doctors saying they hadn't tested it yet… so we'll see."

"What have you done with Ethan?" Mia asked, struggling to free her foot from the mud before taking a step forward. "Eveline, where have you taken him?!"

Smirking at the intensity of her question, the little put her hands behind her back, and started skipping her way across the terrain, yet didn't seem to leave a single footprint in the mud, even when she stopped right in front of Mia. Now motioning for her to come closer as if to tell her a secret, Mia slowly leaned down toward the little girl, only to gasp and cry out when Eveline punched her in the mouth.

"You're notmy mommy, _remember_ , Mia?" Eveline hissed as Mia fell into the mud. "So I don't have to tell you a damn thing, you… you _liar_. You said if I was a good girl on the trip, and did what you and Alan said, that we could be a family… but you _lied_ to me, Mia. You lied, so now _Ethan's_ gonna be my daddy, and then you'll… actually, I don't even know if I still _want_ you to be my mommy or not."

As Mia struggled to free herself from the mud, she also struggled to understand what the little girl was talking about. For one thing, she wasn't sure about what trip Eveline was talking about… unless she meant that they had been on the ship together for some reason… but why would Mia have been traveling anywhere with the little girl, and… and who in the hell was this _Alan_ person?

"I have Ethan in the lowest level of that ship." Eveline continued, nodding toward the rusted hull. "But you'll have to climb up to the top in order to get to him… I want you to see what's left in there, and I want you to remember what happened, and then _maybe_ … if you're _good_ … I'll still let you be my mommy."

Looking at the rope ladder, and following it with her eyes all the way to the top, Mia started to say something when she looked back at where Eveline was standing, but stopped when she found that the little girl had disappeared. The thought of simply escaping briefly crossed her mind, but those thoughts stopped when she realized that not only did she have no way of navigating the bayou on her own… but she couldn't just leave Ethan there.

So she struggled to free herself from the mud, first working her way into a sitting position, and then turning over onto her hands and knees in order to stand up, but stopping when she saw something. It was her own reflection, looking back up at her from a small puddle of water, and that was when Mia realized how long it had been since she had even seen herself. All of the mirrors, as well as a lot of other things in the Baker estate had been broken while the family hunted down the various _guests_ that wandered onto the premises, and honestly she hardly recognized herself.

Suddenly another figure appeared in the reflection, causing Mia to gasp and fall backwards in fear that Eveline had returned… but then she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that it was Zoe standing there. Like herself, the short-haired woman was soaked and covered in mud, but it was good to see that everyone had survived Eveline's attack on the fishing boat.

"Where's Ethan?" Zoe asked, helping Mia up by grabbing her hand. "I ain't seen him nowhere."

"Eveline… Eveline has him." She explained, pointing to the old rope ladder. "She said she took him into the ship, and… up there's the only way in."

The short-haired woman looked at the ladder, and then just like Mia had done, Zoe's eyes followed it up while a disheartened expression formed on her face. She was probably wondering the same things that Mia was thinking; it was a long way up, wondering if the rope ladder was even sturdy enough to hold them, hoping that Ethan was all right… and being scared about whether the serum worked or not. Even if it had, the effects wouldn't last forever, and… and then Mia's thoughts were interrupted when Zoe grabbed onto the rope ladder.

"Zoe, what are you doing?" She asked as the short-haired woman started to climb. "You don't even know if the ladder will hold you."

"Seems good so far." Zoe replied, nearly losing her footing, but then regaining it. "But this serum ain't gonna last forever, and I ain't leavin' Ethan behind, so start climbin'."

The rope ladder creaked and swayed while the short-haired woman moved farther up, and after waiting a few more seconds to make sure it was strong enough to hold at least one of them, Mia slowly climbed onto it. She remained where she was for a moment, again making sure that the old ladder would hold, and then she started up after Zoe. The short-haired woman had a good head start on her, not that it was a race, but the ship's deck was _really_ high up, and both of them were starting to get tired by the halfway point.

" _Damn_ , this boat is big." Zoe griped before starting up again. "What the hell'd Eveline bring him all the way up here for, anyway?"

"She actually took him to the lowest level." Mia explained, making Zoe glare at her. "But the only way in is way up there… Eveline said she wants me to remember something, but I don't know what."

In response, the short-haired woman grumbled something as she kept going, but was too far away for Mia to hear what it was… probably better that way. So she continued climbing, now moving even higher than the dying cypress trees, and being thankful that the rain had stopped, since the moss covering most of the ladder's rungs would have been incredibly slippery if it was wet… and it was a _long_ way down.

Finally, after what felt like forever, and about half a dozen close calls, Mia finally reached the top of the ladder. By then her arms were tired to the point where Zoe had to help her climb over onto the rusting metal deck of the ship. Apparently there had once been dozens of cargo containers stacked on top of the ship, the moonlight allowed most of them to be seen scattered across the bayou below, partially sticking out of the murky water. Mia figured that they must have broken loose and fallen overboard when the ship ran aground… but what was a ship like this doing in the shallow waters of the Louisiana bayou in the first place?

"It must'a wrecked like this durin' the storms." Zoe suggested, looking at the moss and mold growing across the deck. "Daddy found you an' Eveline washed up near the boathouse like a couple a' drowned rats… nowhere else you could'a come from but here… but what was you two doin' on this ship?"

"I don't know." Mia replied, her eyes now focusing on a nearby door. "Zoe, I honestly can't remember… let's just focus on finding Ethan for now, and maybe something inside the ship will help me figure it out."

Not waiting for the short-haired woman's reply, Mia started walking toward the door, feeling a headache start to set in as a little bit more of the haze on her mind started to clear… and suddenly the ship felt more familiar. Had she really been onboard when it ran aground? And if so, how did Eveline fit in? Hopefully the answers would become clear as the serum continued to work on her mind… and hopefully it would completely cure her of Eveline's infection as well.


	33. Chapter 33 Subject E-001

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Three: Subject E-001**

From what she could see through the thick windows, Mia knew that the door she was opening led into the Bridge of the ship, but she was not prepared for the rush of foul air that came pouring out. Everything smelled like mold and decaying animals as she and Zoe stepped inside, and the source was obvious, given that the ship's officers… or at least what _remained_ of them, were slumped over their stations.

Their skeletal remains were partially encased in the hardened black substance, as if having been taken completely by surprise when… whatever had happened occurred, and one of the dark orange emergency lights was still on, meaning that there was still at least _some_ power running through the ship. This didn't help with the smell however, but Mia took it as a good sign… after all, during the last three years the scent of Eveline's mold hadn't bothered her, so maybe the serum _was_ working after all.

"Ship's logs are all ruined." Zoe said, flipping through a book of waterlogged pages. "No power goin' to the controls, neither. Don't take no genius to figure out Eveline was here, but… who would go lettin' a little girl onboard a cargo ship all by herself?"

"I don't know, Zoe." Mia replied, looking away from the bodies. "But Eveline said there was something in here I had to see, and… and she mentioned someone named _Alan_. Maybe he was one of the crew, or… you don't see a ship's manifest or anything lying around, do you?"

It was a longshot, since any other records on the ship would have probably been in just as bad of shape as the Captain's Log, but it was better than simply wandering through the wrecked ship at random, so the two of them started searching. There were plenty of navigational charts, all waterlogged to the point of being illegible, meaning that there was no way to determine the ship's port of origin, so Mia decided to investigate the crew lockers; screaming and jumping back when another skeletal body fell out upon opening the latch.

"Holy fuckin' _smokes_ , Mia!" Zoe scolded, hand on her own chest once she realized what happened. "You bout' scared the livin' _daylights_ outa me!"

"I'm sorry." Mia replied, catching her breath as well. "I just didn't expect someone to be… what the hell's he _doing_ in there, anyway?"

Standing inside of a crew locker didn't seem like the normal activity of officer onboard a ship, assuming that this person had been one of them since he was wearing a jacket similar to the others on the Bridge… so… had he been hiding from something? That would make sense, if he had been standing on the opposite side of the room from where Eveline attacked from, and ran into the locker while the others were being consumed by the mold.

Whatever his circumstances had been, the two women were a lot more careful while opening the other lockers. The search didn't provide anything really useful, such as weapons or flashlights, but they _did_ manage to find the ship's manifest. The locker probably protected it from the elements, and after taking it over to the emergency light, it was discovered that it contained a bunch of useless information. This ship had been carrying several different types of cargo… all lost to the bayou… and then there was the roster of the Captain and crew…

"Hey, here's something." Zoe said, pointing to a name on the final page. " _Passenger Roster… Droney, Alan… party of three… Compartment 314_. That mean anythin' to you, Mia?"

"I'm not sure." Mia replied, looking at another page. "Something about all this seems familiar, but… I don't know. According to this map, there's three more decks below us, so we should be pretty close to Alan Droney's compartment."

Again, it wasn't much of a lead, but as more and more of the haze cleared from her mind, Mia just _knew_ that the answers were onboard somewhere. The ship was starting to feel more familiar, and just for a moment, she thought she remembered talking with Eveline… back when the lights had been working. So she set the manifest down, before walking around the back of the Bridge until she found a stairwell, and not waiting for Zoe to catch up when she started down into the darkness.

The emergency lights were on in the stairwell, but only provided enough dim orange illumination for her to barely make out the shapes of the stairs and railings. She only had to go down one deck, but when she reached the heavy bulkhead into Deck Three, Mia found that the partially rusted wheel wouldn't even turn. She pulled on it with all her strength, succeeding in moving it about an inch, but then it wouldn't go any farther.

Well, if this bulkhead wouldn't open, then maybe there was another way around… meaning that she would have to go down at least another deck, and hopefully there would be a way through. Of course, with only the emergency lights for her to use as a guide, Mia was going to be stumbling around in the dark, so she turned around and gasped when she saw the brightly illuminated face of a monster… no, wait… the light was coming from a flashlight… shining on Zoe's face from underneath.

"I found these flashlights in the box at the top of the stairs." The short-haired woman said, passing her one. "There was a hammer for breakin' glass on fire alarms, too… don't think we gotta worry bout' no fires, but maybe it can knock that wheel loose."

Mia moved out of the way so that Zoe could reach the wheel, and after raising the hammer above her head, the short-haired woman brought it down on one of the wheel's spokes with an echoing, metallic _clang_. The wheel moved a little as a small amount of rust-flakes floated down to the grated floor, so Zoe struck it again, and again, and again until finally… the head broke off the hammer. The now useless tool fell to the floor with another _clang_ , but the good news was that the wheel had been loosened.

Each grabbing the wheel with both hands, the two women still struggled to make it turn, but at least this time it _was_ turning. Soon there was a hard, metallic _click_ from within, and with both of them pressing against it with their shoulders, the bulkhead slowly swung open, allowing them access to Deck Three. The flashlights made it a lot easier to navigate the corridors as well, since with just the emergency lights, Mia would have _never_ been able to read the numbers on the plaques next to each compartment door.

"Okay, 310… 311… 312." Zoe counted, keeping her light's beam held so that it would hit every plaque. "313… okay, here's 314."

Expecting to find another sealed bulkhead, Mia was surprised to find that only a regular wooden door was there to keep people out of the compartment… a door that had a busted lock… and was sitting a few inches open. Neither of them could hear anything moving around inside, so Zoe pushed the door open with a long, drawn out _creak_ , revealing what appeared to be guest quarters. There were mounts on the wall, suggesting that there had once been bunkbeds in there for the crew, but had been removed to make room for two more standard looking beds.

There was a small bed in the corner of the room, no bigger than a _twin size_ , and a much larger one in the center of the room, obviously made for adults… as if a couple had been traveling with their child. The furniture in the room, a dresser and a couple nightstands, were mostly broken down just like they had been in the Baker estate, and the most disturbing part about all this was that Mia seemed to remember this place.

" _But I don't want to take the medicine_." She recalled a voice saying as she looked over at the smaller bed. " _It makes my head hurt… I'll be good, I promise… just don't make me take it, just this once… please, mommy?_ "

" _You know the rules, Eveline_." She recalled her own voice saying. " _You have to take your medicine every day until we get to the lab, or you could get really sick, and… wait, what did you just call me?_ "

Her thoughts were interrupted by Zoe calling out to her, announcing that she had found something underneath the bed. It was a briefcase, a metal one with a really sturdy lock, but apparently there was no lock in the world strong enough to keep the short-haired woman from bashing on it with the end of her flashlight. It was a _Maglite_ , so the end was about as good as a hammer, and after several good hits, the lock finally succumbed to the force, as well as probably three years of rusting.

Opening the lid, the first thing that Mia saw was a green vial of some kind of liquid, which she immediately grabbed, almost out of instinct. The label had worn off, but as she felt the reinforced plastic in her hand, she knew that it was important… but exactly _how_ it was important escaped her completely. Zoe, on the other hand, was more focused on the first of several documents that were inside the briefcase, and Mia found herself looking over the short-haired woman's shoulder when she aimed the flashlight to read it.

 _ **MESSAGE BEGINS:**_

 _SUBJECT E-001, CODENAME 'EVELINE'_

 _ **AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY**_

 _SUBJECT E-001 IS THE FIRST OF A NEW CLASSIFICATION OF BIO-ORGANIC WEAPONS, DESIGNED TO PRESENT A HARMLESS EXTERIOR WHILE SUBVERTING AGGRESSIVE POPULATIONS FROM WITHIN. ALL OTHER SERIES B.O.W.'S PROJECTED TO BE RENDERED OBSOLETE WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF DEPLOYMENT FOLLOWING MASS PRODUCTION._

 _THROUGH THE USE OF A CHEMICAL INFECTION AGENT, AS WELL AS A CULTIVATED EXTRA-SENSORY PERSEPTION, E-001 HAS PROVEN CAPIBLE OF INFLUENCING THE WILL AND THOUGHT PROCESS OF ALL TRIAL SUBJECTS, WHILE ALSO INSTILLING A SENSE OF LOYALTY TO THE SUBJECT ITSELF, SIMILAR TO THE BONDS OF A TYPICAL FAMILY._

 _E-001 HAS BEEN CONDITIONED TO SEEK OUT TARGETS WITH LARGE FAMILY GROUPS, IN ORDER TO KEEP THE SUBJECT'S PRESENCE FROM BEING DISCOVERED, WITH OBSERVED SIDE EFFECTS INCLUDING E-001 EXPRESSING STRONG DESIRE FOR A STABLE FAMILY UNIT._

 _A SERUM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FOR USE IN PURGING RECENT LOW LEVEL INFECTION FROM E-001, TO BE USED ONLY IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. A SEDATIVE HAS ALSO BEEN DEVELOPED WHICH WILL TEMPORARILY SUSPEND E-001'S ABILITIES. WARNING: ONLY TO BE USED DURING TRANSPORT._

 _CHANGE #1:_ _E-001 CONTAINMENT SITE NO LONGER SECURE. POSSIBILITY OF ENEMY OPERATIVES DISCOVERING SUBJECT. RELOCATION PLAN D IS NOW IN EFFECT. AGENTS RECEIVING ORDERS VIA DATABURST. SECONDARY SITE IS NOW ACTIVE._

 _CHANGE #2:_ _AGENTS BRIEFED AND DISPATCHED. INSTRUCTED TO READ FULL ORDERS ONCE ABOARD CHARTERED VESSEL. FULL ORDERS AND SUBJECT BRIEF ENCLOSED IN SECURED BRIEFCASE._

 _ **MESSAGE ENDS.**_


	34. Chapter 34 Evacuation Plan D

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Four: Evacuation Plan D**

"I don't believe this." Zoe said, rereading the document. "Says here that Eveline's some kinda… _weapon_. Looks like someone _grew_ her in some lab, an' they're wantin' to use her to infect people on purpose… what kinda sick fuck would…

She didn't finish her question, instead simply finishing reading the first page, and then turning over to the second one. Mia had to admit that she was just as eager to find out more about what was going on, but the more she looked around in the room, the more she started to feel a knot forming in her stomach. The serum had to still be working, since her mind was continuing to clear, and now she remembered hearing screams around the ship right after… right after _what_? Mia just couldn't remember, so she returned to looking over Zoe's shoulder in order to see the next document.

 _ **ORDERS TO SPECIAL OPERATIONS AGENTS.**_

 _EVACUATION PLAN D IS NOW IN EFFECT._

 _UPON RECIEPT OF THESE ORDERS, YOU ARE TO REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO SITE 1 IN ORDER TO SECURE SUBJECT E-001 FOR TRANSPORT TO SITE 2. PROVIDE COVER STORY 4 TO LOVED ONES TO EXPLAIN YOUR ABSENCE, AND TO MISLEAD ANY PURSUING AGENTS._

 _ONCE IN POSESSION OF E-001, YOU WILL BOARD THE PREARRANGED TRANSPORT, AND ASSUME THE GUISE OF A MARRIED COUPLE, AND AT ALL TIMES REFERRING TO E-001 AS YOUR DAUGHTER, 'EVELINE', TO AVOID ANY POSSIBLE SUSPICION._

 _AT ALL TIMES, E-001 MUST BE KEPT CALM AND COMFORTABLE, WITH THE PROVIDED SEDATIVE ADMINISTERED EVERY 24 HOURS IN ORDER TO SUPPRESS INFECTIOUS ABILITIES. ONCE YOU HAVE REACHED SITE 2, E-001 WILL BE RELEASED TO CONTAINMENT PERSONNEL._

 _CHANGE #1:_ _IF FOR ANY REASON THE MISSION BECOMES COMPRIMISED BEYOND RECONCILIATION, DISPOSE OF E-001 USING THE VERBALY DESCRIBED METHOD._

 _CHANGE #2:_ _DUE TO POSESSING SIMILAR PHYSICAL FEATURES TO E-001, IN ORDER TO BETTER POSE AS THE BIOLOGICAL MOTHER, THE ASSIGNED FEMALE AGENT WILL BE REPLACED WITH OPERATIVE MIA WINTERS._

Gasping at the same time as they read that last section of the document, Mia and Zoe both reread the entire page a second time just to ensure that they had not been mistaken, and then the short-haired woman took a good, _long_ look at Mia. It was true that she and the little girl looked similar, and as much as she wanted to deny her involvement with everything that happened… the evidence was just too damning.

She and Eveline had been discovered by Jack Baker at the same time, they looked alike, Mia was starting to remember caring for the little girl onboard the ship before it had run aground, and now the document that described Eveline's true nature had identified her by name. Honestly, Mia didn't know what to say about all this, but then her time to say anything at all was cut short when Zoe suddenly jumped up and took a swing at her.

Mia was caught completely by surprise, allowing the punch to catch her in the cheekbone, and making her stumble backwards before falling onto the floor. The hard-plastic vial she had retrieved from the case fell from her hand, rolling across the room until it came to a stop against the far wall, and she was about to crawl after it, but was stopped when Zoe grabbed her by the shirt.

"I knew it!" The short-haired woman yelled, pulling her to her feet. "I fuckin' _knew_ you had _somethin'_ to do with all this, Mia! I jus' _knew_ it!"

There was nothing Mia could do as Zoe shoved her up against the nearby wall, nor could she defend herself against the following accusations that she was solely responsible for the deaths of Jack and Marguerite, especially when the short-haired woman slugged her in the stomach when she tried to talk. The wind was knocked out of Mia after Zoe's surprisingly hard punch, and the short-haired woman was pulling back for another hit, when someone stopped her by grabbing onto her wrist.

At first relieved by being rescued from whatever punishment that Zoe had in store for her, this feeling of relief turned into dread when Mia looked up and saw that it was Eveline who was now restraining the short-haired woman. The little girl pulled her away from Mia, and then she twisted her wrist hard enough to make Zoe cry out in pain as she was brought down to her knees.

"Not yet, Zoe." Eveline said, shaking her finger at her. "I know you _really_ want to be with Ethan and be my new mommy, but you can't kill each other until Mia remembers everything, okay? Now, are you going to be good if I let you go?"

"I'll be good!" The short-haired woman yelled in pain. "I'll be good, Eveline, jus' let go!"

The little girl let go, causing Zoe to gasp in relief while holding onto her wrist, and then Eveline turned her attention to Mia. She just glared at her for several seconds as if angry at her for some reason, but then turned away. This time the little girl walked over to the smaller bed in the room, and sat down on it, causing another memory to flash through Mia's mind. She remembered alarms going off throughout the ship, and hearing screams.

" _She's vomiting_!" She remembered yelling as she ran back into the room. " _Alan, Eveline's vomiting… that black stuff is spreading all across the deck! Where's the sedative_?!"

" _It's gone_!" She remembered a man's voice answering. " _Eveline destroyed every vial… what did you say to her, Mia?! What did you do to make her so mad_?!"

"Are you remembering, Mia?" The little girl asked, her legs swinging as she sat on the edge of the bed. "I remember when you and Alan came to get me from the lab… the doctors told me I was going on a trip, and I was _so_ excited when I heard that you were going to be my mommy. I thought I was being adopted… I thought I had a family that loved me, and that we were going to live in a house… do you remember what happened, Mia?"

It was a struggle to find the memories, but the more that Eveline talked, the clearer it became. Mia was finally able to remember the three of them staying in that room, and she described a night when the storms became really bad. It was the hurricane of 2014, and the ship _should_ have been far enough away… she had been sitting on the edge of the smaller bed, tucking the little girl in for the night and telling her a story before giving her the sedative… but then…

" _I called you 'mommy'_." Eveline had said, sitting up and hugging her. " _I don't want to go back to the lab, I want to be your daughter and us live together. I love you, mommy… don't you… love me, too?"_

" _Eveline… honey, it's not that simple_." Mia remembered saying. " _You have to go back to the lab, because of how special you are… I know it's hard for you to understand, and I like you a lot, I really do… but I can never be your mother_."

Now the rest of the memories came flooding in; alarms blaring and crewmembers screaming as Eveline's black mold engulfed them, killing most, and turning the few survivors into the clawed monsters that had been seen in the basement of the Baker estate. Alan, the one who traveled with them, had become infected as well, and tried his hardest to fight the little girl. His attempt was unsuccessful, however, and Eveline had taken personal offense to a few of the more _choice_ words that he had for her during the struggle, prompting the little girl to punish him with the same calcification that had happened to Jack and Marguerite Baker during their deaths.

Mia remembered the whiteness spreading across his body, and then hearing the little girl laughing while his body crumbled into dust, but it _had_ given her a brief opportunity to get away. By that time there was no longer a crew to control the ship, and the lights had started to flicker as it drifted closer to the hurricane. Soon the ship was rocking back and forth, now a slave to the currents that would eventually drive Mia and Eveline onto the shores of Louisiana, and the last thing that Mia tried to do once the little girl infected her as well… was send a message to Ethan through her laptop.

It was more of a warning than a message; telling him to forget about her and move on, advising him above all else to stay as far away as possible, but then she succumbed to the infection. When Mia woke up, she was being carried toward a large house by a man she didn't recognize, and this allowed a brief glimmer of hope. After all, maybe Eveline had drowned in the storm… but then about an hour later she heard the man announce that he had found a little girl washed up on the shore.

"You should have just been my mommy, Mia." Eveline said, getting off the bed. "Like I said, I've got Ethan down in the Engine Room, so meet me down there when you two are ready."

With that, the little girl walked out of the compartment, leaving Mia and Zoe there to process what had just happened, along with the new information. Once the shock had worn off, however, the first thing she did was walk over to the corner, and retrieve the vial that had been knocked to the floor earlier. Mia didn't know why… or rather, couldn't _remember_ why it was important, but she knew that it was. Of course, this didn't help to smooth things over with Zoe, who was still glaring at her just as angrily.

"Zoe… I'm sorry." She said. "I…

"Save it." The short-haired woman snapped. "For what you done to my family… I oughta take off my belt an' whoop you till you _die_ , Mia… but I'm not tryin' to break Ethan's heart… you're gonna do that yourself after tellin' him how you caused all this. Now, let's go find him."

Zoe didn't wait for Mia to follow before walking out of the compartment, making them once again have to navigate through the darkness with only the flashlights and dim emergency lights to guide them. Mia wanted desperately to make things right with Zoe, but she just couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't cause the short-haired woman to blow up on her, so maybe silence was the answer for the time…

"I don't fuckin' believe you, Mia." Zoe said, interrupting her thoughts as she turned back to face her. "Most women would _kill_ to have a good man like Ethan takin' care of them, but _no_ , that ain't enough for _you_ , huh? You gotta go runnin' off takin' care of _monster-children_ , an'… an' don't even get me _started_ on _proper laboratory specimen containment procedures_ … how could you _possibly_ go thinkin' that movin' Eveline like this was a good idea? What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?!"

Mia had nothing that she could say back to any of this, so she just stood there silently, and with as volatile as Zoe was at the moment, that was probably the safest course of action. After about a minute of this _silent treatment_ , the short-haired woman scoffed at her, shaking her head as she passed back through the bulkhead into the stairwell, and started down toward Engineering.


	35. Chapter 35 Finding Ethan

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Five: Finding Ethan**

Mia had to rush in order to keep up with Zoe as the two of them made their way down the stairwell, not wanting to make the short-haired woman any angrier than she already was, but also not wanting to be alone on this wrecked ship. The smell of black mold grew heavier in the air the further down they went, but it also seemed like more of the emergency lights were on, which made sense because all the ship's power came from the Engine Room.

"Okay, Mia, no more fuckin' games." Zoe said, suddenly turning around and blocking her path. "I know Eveline's your little _pet project_ or whatever, but I wanna know how you was gonna kill her if things went bad, an' I wanna know _right now_. The _verbal_ part of your orders, Goddamn it, what _was_ they?"

"I don't know!" Mia snapped back, probably louder than she should have. "Zoe, I promise you, I can barely remember what happened on this ship, but everything before that is still blank."

Truthfully, she wasn't sure if that was _all_ she remembered, because there was a single lingering memory… well, more like just a flash of remembering something about the green vial that she had slipped into her pocket. Honestly, Mia couldn't remember why it was important, but her instincts told her to hold onto that vial for dear life. Zoe seemed to be satisfied with this answer for now, and continued on her way down past the bulkhead into the next deck… except she couldn't go any farther, due to the stairwell being blocked by what looked like a makeshift barricade.

There were desks and large tables stacked together, but they were covered in a mountain of the black mold, and there were more skeletal crewmembers embedded in the hardened substance on the other side. It was as if they had been trying to build a wall so that Eveline couldn't pursue them, but _obviously_ their plan failed. It did, however, completely block the two women from going down any further, leaving them no choice but to pass through the bulkhead onto the current deck.

Unlike the last one, the wheel turned easily, and the bulkhead swung open to reveal another set of corridors. The flashlights were still necessary even with an increased number of emergency lights, and now the smell of black mold was even heavier, almost to the point of burning their noses. They passed an open set of double doors, allowing Mia to see into the ship's Galley, and there she stopped.

With the beam of her flashlight shining across the mold-covered tables and the kitchen beyond, Mia was plagued with another surge of memories. It was almost like she could see the room when it had still been intact, and clearly hear the screams of people trying to escape. There was nowhere to go, however, and one by one the black liquid engulfed them like a living creature before solidifying… and that was when the creature's appeared.

Rising from within the mold, the monsters were horrible, all teeth and claws as they sought out anyone who hadn't yet been infected, and that included Mia. In her desperate attempt to escape the ship after Alan's death, she had taken the pistol from their case, and with a _bang-bang-bang_ in this very room, she fought off the first one that she encountered. The bullets didn't do as much as she had hoped, blowing pieces of mold off of the monster's body, but not doing anything to stop it.

" _What's wrong, don't you like my new friends, Mia_?" She remembered Eveline seething from behind the creature. " _If I can't have a family, then I've got to have friends, right, Mia? Right?! And now my friends are going to play with you, doesn't that sound like fun?! Doesn't it sound like…_

Then the little girl's words had been interrupted by Mia aiming her pistol again and firing, this time not at the creature, but at Eveline herself. There was a loud _bang_ as the bullet flew right past the monster, and then it sunk into the little girl's shoulder, making her let out a surprised yelp as the monster collapsed back into a moldy skeleton on the floor. Eveline gritted her teeth in pain while cradling her shoulder with her other hand, and Mia remembered aiming at her head before pulling the trigger a second time… and hearing a soul-crushing _click_.

She had run out of bullets, and when Eveline heard that sound, she looked up at Mia wide-eyed, as if the little girl couldn't believe that Mia was actually trying to kill her. For a moment it looked like Eveline was going to cry, but then she scowled and waved her arm, causing Mia to scream as the once again liquefied mold came rushing toward her like a flash flood… and that was the last thing she remembered.

"What, reflectin' on poor life choices?" Zoe asked, bringing her back into the present by shining the light in Mia's eyes. "I'd feel like shit, too if I was you right now… you shoulda' been at home like a _proper wife_ takin' care of your man… not vanishin' for months doin'… well, specially' what you _was_ doin' durin' that time."

"What the fuck do _you_ know about being married, Zoe?" Mia replied, just as surprised as Zoe to hear herself say it. "You think that going off to _college_ for a few years means you know about the world? I made _damn_ good money doing what I did, I remember that much, and Ethan _never_ complained about how comfortable we were."

The short-haired woman just looked at her in astonishment for a few seconds, and then shook her head before using body language that suggested that she wasn't sure whether or not it would be worth it to hit Mia again or not. Zoe went through this cycle a couple times, starting to say something but then considering attacking, and finally just shaking her head again as if giving up on a hopeless topic.

"Here's what I _know_ , you stupid bitch." The short-haired woman replied. "I know that a good man deserves a woman who'll take care of him, and if Ethan was _my_ man, he'd be comin' home every day to a clean house, supper on the table, an' all the _Zoe_ he could handle. That's how my mama an' daddy did it… you know… fore' you went an' got'em killed. Huh… maybe Eveline really _is_ your daughter."

"That's great, Zoe." Mia said back with more anger in her voice. "But you know what? Ethan's _not_ your man… he's mine. He came all the way out here to rescue _me_ , not _you_ , and I can _promise_ you that if you were as infected as your mom and dad… _my_ husband would've killed _you_ just as fast as he did to _them_."

For a second it looked like the short-haired woman was going to strike her with the flashlight, but instead Zoe just scoffed at her again before turning away. Now Mia was having mixed feelings about their argument, especially since it really _was_ her own fault that the Bakers had gone through, well… everything that they had. It also hurt to think that although Ethan would have surely killed Zoe if she had been infected like the others… he had also nearly killed Mia _herself_ during her own infection.

Speaking of Ethan, he was still trapped by Eveline, so Mia followed Zoe the rest of the way across the deck, before finding another, and thankfully unblocked, stairwell. Thankfully there didn't seem to be any of Eveline's friends around this time, giving the two women an unobstructed path down into Engineering, which was on the very lowest deck. There were plenty more emergency lights on down there to the point of almost allowing them to see without the flashlights, but it was still a good idea to keep them.

This whole area was a maze of narrow catwalks with narrow paths that ran underneath them, but whereas a place like this should have been alive with incredibly loud machinery and generators, it was eerie to have it be so silent. The refrigerator size devices were cold and unmoving, which made it really easy for Mia and Zoe to navigate around them… not that either of them had the slightest idea of where it was in Engineering that they were headed to.

"Mommy." Eveline's voice called softly. "Mommy… we're over _here_ , mommy."

Forgetting their recent arguments, the two women looked at each other, and the expression of nervousness and fear on Zoe's face matched exactly with what Mia was feeling, since they both knew that they were about to face off against whatever the little girl had instore for them. Eveline called out to them again a few moments later, this time reminding them that Ethan, whom she now referred to as _daddy_ was waiting for them as well, and suddenly all the fear that Mia had for herself was gone as she quickly followed the voice.

"Eveline, we're here!" She called, crawling over some pipes. "We're here, just… just please don't hurt Ethan, okay?"

"I'm not gonna hurt him, silly." The little girl replied as Mia ran up the stairs to the platform where she was standing. "I'm gonna make us a family… still not sure which of you Ethan loves… but I guess I can _make_ him love either one. So… which one of you wants to be my new mommy?"

"Oh, my God, Ethan!" Zoe interrupted, looking at something as soon as she reached the top of the stairs. "Ethan!"

Following her gaze, Mia gasped when she saw that Ethan was stuck against the wall, partially cocooned in a mound of solidified black mold, with a completely blank look on his face. The two women immediately ran over and started trying to dig him out, but after only ripping a few pieces of the substance off of his body, something started to happen. Suddenly it felt like the whole ship was vibrating, and with it came a dull, throbbing pain in the center of Mia's brain like she was being stabbed, although Zoe seemed unaffected by this.

As the short-haired woman continued to rip pieces of the black mold away from the catatonic Ethan, Mia stumbled backwards, putting her hands over her ears to try and keep out the horrific noise that was coming along with the vibrations. The pain became so bad that she slowly sunk down to her knees, but even with all the noise building up within her head, Eveline sudden giggling came through as clear as day. It hurt Mia's neck to turn and look at the little girl, and now she was feeling really sick to her stomach.

" _Something's wrong with Mia, what's wrong with Mia_?" Eveline sang as she skipped back and forth across the platform. " _Maybe it's the serum, it's got to be the serum_. _Ethan didn't save you, it wasn't enough to save you_. _You thought you were fine now, but now your ass is mine now_."

The horrible song continued as the little girl continued to giggle and skip back and forth, but Mia could feel it happening. This was the same way that it had felt the first time she had been infected by Eveline's mold, and now the feeling is sickness and disorientation was spreading. Taking another look up at Zoe, she saw that the short-haired woman had managed to free him, and that he was waking up.

"Ethan!" Mia screamed, shoving past Zoe and taking the green vial out of her pocket. "Ethan, you need to take this! It's important! Please, there's no time, I can't fight her anymore! Ethan, you and Zoe have to get out of here before… before… Ethan, whatever happens, just remember that I love you… I love you so… so…

Suddenly Mia shrieked as she watched the skin on her hands and arms become discolored, and then she shoved Ethan backwards hard enough to knock him off his feet, before shrieking again as she rushed toward Zoe.


	36. Chapter 36 Worst Case Scenario

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Six: Worst Case Scenario**

Ethan had only dimly been aware of being encased in the black moldy substance, focused far more on what he was seeing through Mia's eyes. He wasn't even going to try and _guess_ how Eveline was forcing this ability onto him, and he had been glad to find that both his wife and Zoe _had_ survived the boat being overturned, but as the two women made their way through the wrecked cargo ship, he started to feel that… okay, he wasn't completely sure _what_ it was making him feel.

Everything that had happened to him from the moment he and Travis entered the Baker estate pointed to Mia being somehow involved, but to find out that his own wife not only _knew_ all about the little girl beforehand, but was actually some kind of _field agent_ for whatever organization had created Eveline in the first place was just… it was just overwhelming. To Ethan, Mia had always seemed to sweet and innocent, like the stereotypical _girl next door_ … but after seeing her orders, and then watching the memory flashes of her _willingly_ transporting this… _weapon of mass destruction_ …

He loved Mia, but there was no denying that she had been _directly_ responsible for pretty much _everything_ that had happened to both the Baker family _and_ all of their victims over the past three years. Ethan still wanted to save her, and was ready to do whatever it took to do so… but the bottom line was that his wife had completely deserved it when Zoe punched her in the face. Of course, Mia had also been suffering for the past three years… but what would happen to her when they escaped and this all got reported to the authorities?

These thoughts were crashing throughout his mind during the whole time that Mia and Zoe were making their way down into Engineering, interrupted only once because of how flattered he felt when the two women were basically fighting over him… never had that happen before… but then they had reached the bottom of the ship, and suddenly the connection with Mia was severed.

One second he was watching them approach his cocooned self through his wife's eyes, and the next thing he knew there was a stinging sensation in his cheek that made him blink and see Zoe smacking him. The short-haired woman was pulling large pieces of the hardened black mold away from him to the point where he was able to pull himself free, but then Mia shoved Zoe out of the way; a wild look in her eyes as she pressed a green hard-plastic vial into his hands.

"Ethan!" She screamed desperately, guiding his hand to put the vial in his pocket. "Ethan, you need to take this! It's important! Please, there's no time, I can't fight her anymore! Ethan, you and Zoe have to get out of here before… before… Ethan, whatever happens, just remember that I love you… I love you so… so…

Mia didn't finish her sentence, her words devolving into an incoherent shriek as her face became discolored and swollen, and then she shoved Ethan backwards with the same savage power that she had possessed when he first found her in that basement cage. Easily knocking him off his feet, Ethan slid a short distance after crashing onto the grated floor, and in the meantime the apparently re-infected Mia had turned her full attention to Zoe.

"I'll teach you to try and break up _my_ family!" She screamed, swinging the short-haired woman around and tossing her across the platform. "Ethan's _my_ man, you fucking _home-wrecker_!"

"Get her, Mia!" Eveline cheered, jumping up and down while clapping her hands. "Show her what happens to people who don't behave! Show her that _you're_ my new mommy, after all!"

By this time Ethan was back on his feet, and he grabbed Mia from behind, wrapping his arms around her so that her own arms were pinned to her sides. He attempted to drag her backwards, away from where Zoe had fallen, but this effort was stopped when Mia threw her head backwards, making Ethan taste blood when the back of her skull was slammed into his face. This also caused him to let go of her, allowing Mia to turn around and punch him in the stomach hard enough to make him bend forward.

"We're supposed to be a _family_ , Ethan!" She scolded, shoving him roughly up against the guardrail. " _I'm_ your wife! Eveline's your _daughter_! Isn't that enough for you?! Why are you running around with this stupid bitch, Ethan, when you know it _fucking_ pisses me off?!"

Now grabbing him by the hair, Mia forced him to stand back up, before kicking his legs out from under him, and also slamming his head into the guardrail with a hollow _clang_. It took a few seconds for Ethan to realize that he was even lying on the grated floor after taking a blow like that, and even then he was too dazed to try and get up. This gave Mia plenty of time to go after Zoe; easily catching her, and then wrapping her hands around the short-haired woman's throat.

"That looks like it hurts, daddy." Eveline said, leaning over to look at Ethan while Mia choked Zoe. "Don't worry, I'll have mommy take care of you after she's done over there, and then we can all go home… won't that be nice?"

Struggling to look up at the little girl, Ethan wanted nothing more than to break Eveline's neck, not that he currently had the strength to do so… but then he noticed that she wasn't looking so good. The little girl was breathing heavily, and sweat was beading off her forehead as if she were exhausted… just like he had seen happen to her back at the Baker estate before she had run off for her nap.

Hoping that there was a way for him to use this to his advantage, Ethan grabbed onto the guardrail in order to drag himself to his feet, putting his other arm around a nearby machine to help steady himself… when he felt something. It was rounded and metal, like a thin pipe, and when he craned his head around machine to see what it was… his eyes widened when he found that it was an emergency fire hook that was hanging off the side, next to some other forgotten tools.

His head was pounding to the point where it was still difficult to keep his balance, and when Ethan looked back over at the two women, he saw that Mia had forced Zoe down onto the floor, still strangling her. The short-haired woman was flailing around, and trying to break Mia's grip, but she was getting noticeably weaker, and when Eveline made a snide comment about _'it not being long now'_ , Ethan knew that it was time to act. The little girl's attention was solely focused on watching Zoe gasp pitifully for air, so she was taken completely by surprise when he made his move.

Grabbing the fire hook, Ethan turned around and swung the tool right into Eveline's forehead with a loud _whack_ , making the little girl gasp as she tripped over the lower guardrail, hitting her head on the upper one before falling between them, and tumbling down into the darkness below. Now he had to deal with Mia, and the _only_ good thing about her being infected again was that she would regenerate just like Jack had done if he needed to use force.

Zoe was barely moving now, and her hands were losing their grip on Mia's wrists, so Ethan stumbled up behind them, and swung the metal tool with all of his remaining strength. There was a wet _crack_ as the fire hook was brought across the back of his wife's skull, causing Mia to lose her grip on Zoe as she fell to her knees, allowing the short-haired woman to take in a gasping breath. Ethan expected to have to hit Mia a least a few more times, since while infected she was just as powerful as Jack and Marguerite had been, but instead the yellowish discoloration and swelling faded from her face… and the back of her head was bleeding… a lot.

"Ethan?" Mia asked weakly, turning her head to look at him. "Ethan, I'm sorry… I… I feel strange."

Coughing hoarsely as she looked down at herself, Mia and Ethan both gasped when they saw that there were now small veins of whiteness starting to form across her torso… veins that were very slowly spreading outward… and just as slowly getting bigger until Ethan realized what he was seeing. This was the same whiteness that had overtaken both Jack and Marguerite during their final confrontations, but… but there _had_ to be a way to stop it.

"Fuck you, Ethan!" Eveline's voice yelled, making him turn to see that the little girl had climbed back onto the platform. "If you don't want to be my daddy, then you can _die_! _All_ of you can _die_!"

The whiteness continued to slowly spread across Mia's body as Eveline screamed in rage, causing all of the mold in the Engine Room to liquefy and gather behind the little girl. It swirled around as if a choppy ocean, and then started to solidify again while several figures began to rise out of the black substance. They were skeletons… _dozens_ of skeletons, each becoming one of the monsters that Ethan had encountered in the basement of the Baker's main house, and once formed, they all started following Eveline as she walked across the platform.

"Ethan, go." Mia said as the whiteness spread to her arms. "You have to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you here." Ethan argued, holding up the fire hook to face Eveline. "I promised you that I'd get all three of us out of…

Suddenly his words were interrupted when the little girl waved her arm, sending some kind of barely visible distortion through the air that slammed into Ethan's chest. The pure force of this strange attack felt like being hit by a truck as Ethan was thrown backwards, crashing into Zoe who was just getting to her feet, and causing both of them to tumble down the stairs. Eveline giggled as she walked right past the almost completely white-covered Mia, and the little girl looked like she was about to wave her arm again, when Mia reached out and grabbed her by the hair.

"Let go of me!" Eveline yelled, struggling to free herself. "God damn it, Mia, let go of my hair!"

"Run!" Mia yelled weakly as the whiteness completely overtook her. "Ethan, run! I… I love…

Twisting around so that she was facing Mia, the little girl interrupted her words by waving her arm, and causing her now completely calcified body to explode into a shower of white dust that coated the newly created monsters like a powdery snow. Ethan was too shocked by what had just happened to do anything but just lay there at the bottom of the stairs, looking wide-eyed at an event that… that _couldn't_ have just happened. No, he was supposed to rescue _both_ of them, and then… but now… this wasn't… no, this _couldn't_ be happening.

Eveline, on the other hand, seemed totally unaffected as she turned back toward them, but instead of coming after Ethan and Zoe, the little girl stumbled sideways. She coughed and rasped, grabbing onto the guardrail to steady herself, and this seemed to effect the monsters as well. They all stopped advancing, while a few started shaking, while others simply collapsed where they stood.

"Ethan, we gotta go!" Zoe exclaimed as Eveline slowly sunk to her knees from fatigue. "Ethan, we gotta get outa here fore' those things recover!"

But Ethan wasn't listening, instead just staring in disbelief at where Mia had been kneeling… that is, until the short-haired woman slapped him in the face, causing him to gasp and look around as if having been suddenly woken from a deep sleep. Again yelling at him to get on his feet, Zoe grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him forward until he found the ability to move again, although nearly absent-mindedly as the short-haired woman pulled him along.

"Ethan!" Eveline screamed as more of her monsters collapsed. "Ethan, come back here, you piece of shit! This isn't over! Ethan!"


	37. Chapter 37 Grief and Remorse

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Seven: Grief and Remorse**

"Ethan!" Eveline's voice screamed, followed by more coughing. "You can't hide from me, I'll find you wherever you run!"

Still in shock and almost completely numb after seeing what had happened to Mia, Ethan had a blank look on his face as Zoe pulled him across the grated floor. Somehow he was able to stay on his feet, but if the short-haired woman hadn't been dragging him along by the hand, he probably wouldn't have been able to get away from Eveline. He could still hear the little girl calling after him, but Ethan was only dimly aware of this, as well as barely registering that Zoe had stopped him in order to open a door.

It was a heavy bulkhead like the ones that the two women had used while navigating the stairwell, but apparently the wheel was stuck, since Zoe was pulling on it with all her strength. Part of Ethan was aware that she was struggling, and that this struggle was an attempt to save them both from Eveline… he _knew_ that if the two of them worked together that they could probably break through the rust and get the wheel to turn… but for some reason he just couldn't make himself do it.

Since coming to the Baker estate, Ethan had been through _far_ worse than having to open a door after watching someone die. After all, he had to fight his own wife off after watching her kill Travis with a chainsaw, and also fight off Jack Baker after seeing him kill Deputy Anderson with that shovel… so what was going on? Through all of the other trials, he had known that he was going to find Mia, and that they were going to escape from this hell together… but this time he didn't have that.

"Yes!" Zoe yelled, turning the wheel with a high-pitch scraping sound. "Come on, Ethan, we gotta get outa here!"

Shoving the bulkhead open, and then taking his hand once again, the short-haired woman walked backwards as she pulled him through the passageway, only to gasp when she suddenly vanished from sight. Apparently there was no more grated floor behind her, and since she had still been holding Ethan's hand, he tumbled down as well. The fall wasn't far since they were already on the lowest deck of the ship; both of them getting the wind knocked out of them when they crashed onto the muddy ground, and that was when Ethan realized that they were no longer inside the ship.

The full moon was shining down from the clear night sky, illuminating the bayou enough for Zoe to find her bearings, and they also seemed to have come out on the other side of the wrecked ship, since there was nothing but solid ground ahead of them. The short-haired woman helped him to his feet, and then pulled him along once again, this time moving so fast that Ethan had to struggle to stay on his feet. The fall must've shaken something loose in his mind, since moving on his own was getting easier, and off in the distance he could see some kind of… small building.

Actually, there was more than one… in fact, as they got closer, he was able to see that there were several small buildings; all made of wood, and most having at least partially collapsed. The beam from Zoe's flashlight continued to bounce around as they ran, and once they had reached the first intact building, she let go of him in order to pull the door open. Now that Ethan got a really good look at the place, he saw that all of the wooden structures were gathered around what looked like the mouth of a cave… so what was this place? Some kind of old mining camp?

"We should be safe here a while." Zoe said, pulling him into the shack and closing the door. "I seen Eveline like this a time or two… she was bout' to pass out back there, so we got some hours fore' she thinks bout' comin' after us again."

"Yeah." Ethan agreed quietly, leaning up against the far wall. "We got… time."

As important as he knew that it was to escape from the little girl, he found himself reliving Mia's final moments over and over again in his mind. Watching the whiteness overtake her as her body calcified… watching her explode into powder after holding off Eveline so that he and Zoe could escape… and knowing that she had died because he had struck her in the back of the head with that fire hook.

"She was supposed to heal." Ethan continued, his voice breaking as tears welled up in his eyes. "She was still infected… she was supposed to heal… everyone else healed? Why didn't Mia heal? She was supposed to… she was supposed to…

There were more words, but they devolved into sobbing gibberish as the tears began to run down his cheeks. Suddenly feeling tired and weak, Ethan slowly sunk down until he was sitting on the wooden floor of the shack, wiping his eyes with his arm, but only seeming to make things worse as even more tears came. He was supposed to rescue his wife from all this, but instead… but instead he had killed her _himself_.

"I'm so sorry bout' Mia, Ethan." Zoe said, walking over and kneeling down in front of him. "I wish there was somethin' I could'a done."

"I killed her, Zoe." He sobbed, burying his face in his hands. "I killed my own wife! I killed Mia… I killed your dad… I killed your mom… and I tried to kill a little girl, _twice_! What the fuck is wrong with me, Zoe?!"

The short-haired woman immediately began trying to assure him that none of that was his fault. It was _Eveline's_ fault for infecting and controlling everyone, and if was _Mia's_ fault for bringing her there in the first place… but Eveline and Mia hadn't been the ones to give the death blow. Eveline hadn't chopped Jack Baker in half, and Mia hadn't burned Marguerite Baker with kerosene… and _neither_ of them had bashed Mia in the back of the head. Had there been another way? Had there been another choice that he hadn't seen? These thoughts only served to torture him, and now Ethan's face was turning redder each time he relived it.

"No, no, Ethan, no… come here." Zoe continued, sitting on the wall next to him, and putting her arms around his shoulders. "Ethan, there's _nothin'_ wrong with you, and Eveline _ain't_ no little girl, neither. She's a monster, Ethan… she's a monster who destroys people's lives an' families… I watched each time, you know? I saw you fightin' with my mama and my daddy… with Mia, too… you tried to talk'em down… you did _everythin'_ you could, Ethan, but…

The short-haired woman sniffled as a tear ran down her cheek as well, and as more of them came, Ethan suddenly felt like he had been extremely selfish. After all, here was a woman who had just lost both of her parents, and who was in danger of losing her brother if they ran into Lucas again… not that Ethan hadn't suffered, having lost both a friend and his wife… but Zoe had been going through this for three solid years… watching _God only knew_ how many people get tortured and killed at Eveline's whim.

"Ethan, we're… you an' me, I mean… we're all we got." Zoe continued, wiping her eye on her shoulder. "And there's still hope… the old mine you saw comin' in, it… I mean, if we can get through, the other end'll take us to the edge of the property… we can get outa here, Ethan. We're so close to gettin' away… jus' stay strong for me a little longer, okay? I need you, Ethan… I…

Her voice was breaking as well, and now Ethan wasn't sure who was supposed to be comforting who as they sat there holding each other. Not that he minded, since being held by someone, _anyone_ , seemed like a brief respite from all of the terrible things that they had been going through. She was right though… the two of them were all that they had left in the world, and although he had failed to protect both Travis and Mia… there was no way that Ethan was going to lose _Zoe_ as well.

Pulling her a little closer and giving her a kiss on top of the head, there didn't seem to be much else to say, so they just rested there with their heads together. At some point, Ethan must've fallen asleep, since the next time he opened his eyes there was light coming in through the window of the shack. He knew that it wasn't moonlight since it was pink instead of white, meaning that the sun was going to be up soon.

At first this thought relaxed him, since he was comforted by the prospect of a new day… but then his eyes snapped back open as he realized that _Eveline_ had been resting for the same amount of time that they had. According to Zoe, it would take the little girl several hours to recuperate from everything that had happened, but he didn't want to push their luck, so he tried to be gentle as he shook the short-haired woman awake, but was probably a bit rougher than he meant to.

Zoe was startled at first by this sudden awakening, but after looking at the light coming in through the windows, she appeared to have the same revelation about Eveline that he had. So they both scrambled to their feet, with Ethan opening the shack door for them to leave, and he was stunned for a second by how different everything looked in the pink light of a new day. The wrecked ship sat at the end of the muddy field, and beyond that was the bayou… but now for some reason it didn't seem as scary as it had the night before.

"My flashlight should be enough for us to see." The short-haired woman said as they walked around the shack. "But let's jus' hope we can find an old lantern or somethin', cause' this old mine can be dangerous."

From the look of the place as they approached the cave entrance, no one had used the camp of the mine itself in many years, and hopefully that meant that there were no bodies inside for a certain little girl to use as her _friends_ , either. Still, if the other end of the mine ran to the far edge of the Baker's property… did that mean that they once owned it? This didn't really matter now, since the place was _clearly_ out of use, and the dominant thought in Ethan's mind was the hope… the desperate hope that they would get through and escape before Eveline woke up.


	38. Chapter 38 Lucas's Report

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Eight: Lucas's Report**

Somehow hoping that the rising sun would illuminate the mine as it had done with the old house back at the Baker estate, Ethan was disappointed to find that once they were about thirty feet past the entrance, the man-made cave was just as dark as if it had been the middle of the night. Zoe's flashlight was now their only source of light, since there were no lanterns to be found amongst the broken tools on the ground, but the good news was that so far there had been no sign of Eveline's _friends_.

"I'm thinkin' we should be safe here… for now." Zoe said quietly as they followed the partially buried mine cart tracks. "This here's the old salt mine; ain't been used for years, an' far as I know, ain't nobody been out here for bout' that long. I'm hopin' Eveline don't even know it exists."

"We should still be careful." He replied, ducking down to avoid a low spot in the rock. "Eveline's pretty pissed off at us right now, and if she follows us here after she wakes up… well… I wouldn't want to be trapped in a place like this."

Their shoes made a light splash upon stepping into a puddle of water, and when the short-haired woman shined her light beam around, they were able to see that water was slowly leaking into certain parts of the tunnel. There didn't appear to be any danger of rapid flooding or anything like that, but again, not the ideal place to be trapped, so they kept moving. It was more difficult to avoid the puddles than Ethan originally thought, since the last thing they wanted was for the little girl to find them because of a conspicuous splash, meaning that they had to slow down.

"Like I said, this should take us right up to the far edge of the property." Zoe continued, pointing her beam to warn him about another puddle… only to step in one herself a second later. "So long as the other end ain't collapsed… then I reckon we got us a clear path to the road, an' then I'm sure we can walk as far as Dulvey for help."

"I still don't know what the hell we're going to tell them." Ethan answered before crouching under another low spot. "I mean, it's not like we can just run into the Sheriff's station, and be like: _'Help, there's an evil little girl with superpowers brainwashing or killing everyone who wanders onto the Baker estate… oh, and she also turns dead bodies into mold-covered monsters, so quick, send in the Marines!'_ Only help we'll get doing _that_ is a strait-jacket and some sedatives."

Suddenly Zoe stopped walking, and he was worried that something was wrong, until she made a kind of snorting sound that was followed by laughter. The short-haired woman tried to contain it by keeping her hand over her mouth, but was only partially successful, and when she snorted again, Ethan found himself releasing a pretty strong laugh, himself. It was a strange feeling, since this was probably the first time that he had laughed since crossing the border into Louisiana, but it also broke the tension, at least for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry… sorry, Ethan." Zoe continued, regaining her composure. "I jus' got this _real_ funny picture in my head bout' you in a strait-jacket an' one of them _Hannibal Lector_ masks, and… and… do you hear somethin'?"

Still chuckling about the visual of being taken away by the men in white coats, it took Ethan a second to realize that she had actually asked a question, but everything finally clicked in his mind when the short-haired woman suddenly put her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. Yes, now he could hear something… it wasn't a voice or anything like that, nor was it the shambling of those moldy monsters… it was a _hum_ … like the hum of a machine. There was also a barely visible reflection of light in the farthest puddle of water that they could see from where they were standing…

A light that was not coming from the flashlight.

"Is that… a _generator_?" Ethan whispered, straining his ears to identify the sound. "I thought you said that no one ever comes out here."

"They _don't_." Zoe replied, turning off the flashlight. "Come on, so go see."

It was pretty smart of her to turn off their light first so that they wouldn't be discovered, but now in total darkness except for the distant light, walking forward was proving difficult. The short-haired woman was in front, and she grabbed Ethan's hand so they wouldn't get separated or anything, but this still didn't stop him from stumbling around like he was drunk. Thankfully the source of the light was pretty close, and the tunnel's features became easier to distinguish with each step, until they finally ducked underneath one last low spot, and stepped into a…

"What in the world?" Zoe asked as she looked around.

They had stepped into a much larger and more open chamber of the mine, and now there were industrial work lights spread out across the perimeter, allowing them to see that the source of the noise was definitely coming from a generator. A very _big_ generator that also seemed to be powering a lot of electronic equipment that was scattered around the room. No, it wasn't scattered… it looked like it had been setup into some kind of workshop or maybe a _laboratory_ , considering the amount of papers and notes that were scattered across a nearby desk.

Upon closer investigation of the electrical equipment, they discovered that most of it had been destroyed; smashed up with a heavy object, and pretty recently, too. There was a laptop computer sitting on the desk as well… also smashed… and a majority of the papers had been either ripped up to the point of being illegible, or had been ran through a shredder, like someone was trying to clean house so nothing that they were doing would ever be found.

"Look at all this stuff." The short-haired woman commented, tilting up one of the broken devices. "Must'a taken more than a year gettin' it all goin'… specially' without anyone findin' out… you reckon someone's been out here watchin' us?"

"Well, it's mostly _garbage_ now." Ethan replied, pushing the broken laptop away. "Hard to tell what someone was… hey, wait a second, what's this?"

Underneath the laptop, possibly hidden or maybe simply missed during the house cleaning that was going on there recently, were several intact papers. They appeared to be a series of reports and email transcripts, and when Ethan picked up the stack for a closer look, he saw that there were dates on top of each page. The top one was dated in early 2015, maybe a month after Mia had disappeared, and after a quick flip through, he found that the last one was dated only a couple months ago.

 _January 16_ _th_ _, 2015 12:42 AM_

 _It's been about a week since you guys gave me that stuff, and I'm real happy to report in this, well… report that my head is clear, and I'm no longer under Eveline's control. Thanks a lot for that, guys, I mean it, I owe you guys big time. The little bitch still thinks she's got me though, since I've been acting like the others just like you told me, and she doesn't think anything's wrong. Just to let you know, you might wanna fix that if you're planning to weaponize her and make more… see, she looks like a twelve year old, but she also thinks like one, too._

 _Anyway, here's the first report you wanted. My mom and dad are completely under Eveline's power, and they're acting like the little bitch has always been here, like there've always been three kids in the house. My sister is definitely infected, too, but for some reason Eveline just leaves her alone for most of the day. She has her tuck her in at night, and that creepy little bitch smiles real big when Zoe tells her stories before she goes to sleep._

 _And your girl, Mia ain't having a very good time at all, like the infection's hitting her in a different way. It's like she's halfway in reality, and halfway in Evie-la-la Land, and for such a pretty little thing, this girl can get violent something fierce. I locked her in a cage after the last time she hit me, and Eveline visits her almost every day, but not to do happy girly stupid shit like she does with Zoe. I tell you, the little fucking brat really has it in for Mia for some reason._

 _February 4_ _th_ _, 2015_

 _You know, this arrangement ain't so bad, I just gotta say. Even though I'm kinda worried that Eveline will find out I'm not her slave, but pretending to still be infected allows me to be as crazy and fucked up to people as I want. Whenever Eveline decides not to infect one of the poor bastards that wanders onto the property, she gives them to me, and she giggled when I made one play a card game where he'd lose a finger if he lost._

 _Speaking of Eveline, I don't know if I'm just seeing shit because of some latent effects of the infection, or what, but I tell you this little brat has grown up a lot over the last year, but… no one but me seems to notice at all. She's beautiful now, and just between us, is Eveline really Mia's daughter like she thinks? She's gotta be, because God damn they look alike now, but don't worry… I once saw Eveline pick up a man by the throat with one hand and break his neck, so I ain't gonna lay a finger on her._

 _Mia on the other hand… that's a different deal. Eveline's getting frustrated about something with her, and actually told me to start hurting Mia just so she'd regenerate like the old man does. Eveline thinks it will increase her hold on her, so I beat the shit out of Mia every day, and I love hearing her scream… I also like pretending that she's Eveline from time to time._

 _September 1_ _st_ _, 2016_

 _Eveline's obsession with having a family is getting out of hand. It started with just the people who wandered out onto the property, but now she's having us snatch up people off the street in town, and that's getting pretty hard to do, with the newspaper coverage, and the cops starting to sniff around. I'm pretty sure I can hide out here in my little laboratory here if the place gets raided, and yes I still have the E-Necrotoxin synthesizer in my desk drawer in case I have to kill Eveline… guess I gotta get a blood sample from her or something._

 _Oh, and speaking of Eveline, I think she might be getting sick or something. She gets tired real easy these days, and her naps can last for hours, but she ain't lost a bit of her powers… in fact, I'd say her abilities have gotten even stronger. It's just that seeing what's happening to her face, and her hair, and just her body in general… I'll send a picture after a send this report so that you can see what I'm talking about._

"It says here that something's been happening to Eveline." Ethan commented, re-reading to try and get more information. "But it doesn't…

"Forget Eveline for a second." Zoe interrupted as she also re-read the document. "Ethan, don't you realize what this means? It's Lucas… that fuckin' asshole was cured from the start, an' he jus' left us there to suffer… an' that means… all them people he tortured to death… Ethan, he was doin' that _willingly_."

Zoe started to cry again, slowly moving closer to Ethan so that he could hug her, and he couldn't blame the short-haired woman for being so upset. After all, she had just discovered the truth about her brother, and it was awful, but there was something else on Ethan's mind. If Lucas had been cured, then that meant that someone knew about Eveline and the Bakers right from the start… someone who was willing to let these horrible events unfold, while doing nothing to stop it… so the biggest question was:

Who was Lucas reporting to?


	39. Chapter 39 The Necrotoxin

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Thirty Nine: The Necrotoxin**

Going over the reports in his mind again as he held Zoe, it was difficult for Ethan to believe that even someone like _Lucas_ would be capable of acting the way he had done, without being under Eveline's influence. Up until this point, he had assumed that the bald man had been another helpless puppet like Jack and Marguerite had been, but now… thinking back to the electric shocks, and that _insane_ birthday-themed trap that Ethan had escaped purely by accident…

According to what Zoe had told him earlier, Lucas had tortured and killed _dozens_ of people in ways that were _far_ worse than what Ethan had been through, and with what he had been doing to Mia… the bald man now seemed just as bad as Eveline. Wait, no, that wasn't fair… the little girl wasn't even really a person; she was a weapon that was grown in some laboratory, and was honestly only doing what she had been programmed for… not that it made things any better… but Lucas had a _choice_.

"I jus' can't believe it, Ethan." The short-haired woman said quietly. "We _always_ known Lucas was a bad seed, but… but how could he even _think_ bout' doin' this to someone?"

"I don't know, Zoe. I really don't." He replied, trying and failing to come up with something comforting to say. "It's just too bad there isn't anything in that report that could help us to… hey, wait a second, let me see that paper again."

They separated, and Zoe moved out of the way so that he could get the report, but Ethan only needed it for a second in order to find the part he had seen before… the part about an _E-Necrotoxin_. According to the report, there was some kind of synthesizer in one of the desk drawers, so he pulled the first one open, and found another large case like the one that had held the components needed to make that serum.

The locks on the case opened with a hollow pop, and since he was expecting to find a set of ingredients inside, Ethan was visibly disappointed to find nothing but a small machine within. It looked kind of like the processer that had been used to make the serum, but there was only one slot to place something… and nothing else inside. Well, _almost_ nothing, since there was another plate with instructions on it mounted to the underside of the lid, which read:

 _EMERGENGY E-SERIES NECROTOXIN SYNTHESIZER KIT_

 _WARNING: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. NOT TO BE USED UNLESS E-SERIES SUBJECT IN QUESTION HAS BECOME AN UNMANAGABLE LIABILITY, OR THE 'BACILLUS TERMINATE' ORDER HAS BEEN GIVEN._

 _THE NECROTOXIN PRODUCED BY THIS KIT HAS BEEN PROVEN TO DESTROY THE CELLS OF ANY SUBJECT BASED ON THE E-SERIES WEAPON MODEL IN LABORATORY TRIALS. FATALITY RATE OF EXPOSED SUBJECTS IS 100%, SO DO NOT USE UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY._

 _WARNING: IN LABORATORY TRIALS, ALL EXPOSED SUBJECTS EXIBITED EXTREMELY VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, AND TEMPORARILY ENHANCED ABILITIES DURING CELL-BREAKDOWN. PERSONNEL DEPLOYING NECROTOXIN IN THE FIELD ARE ADVISED TO TAKE ALL POSSIBLE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS._

 _PLACE E-SERIES DNA SAMPLE (MUST BE OF THE SUBJECT IN QUESTION) INTO PROCESSOR. THE STIMULATION AND RECONFIGURING SEQUENCE IS AUTOMATIC, AND SHOULD BEGIN IMMEDIATELY AFTER SAMPLE IS INSERTED._

 _COLLECT COMPLETED COMPOUND WILL BE AUTO-LOADED INTO HYPODERMIC CARTRIDGE ONCE THE FINAL AGITATION SEQUENCE IS COMPLETED. A SINGLE DOSE OF NECROTOXIN WILL BE PRODUCED FOR DEPLOYMENT._

 _INJECT NECROTOXIN COMPOUND DIRECTLY INTO THE BODY OF E-SERIES SUBJECT (ENSURING TO DEPLOY THE ENTIRE DOSE), AND THEN EVACUATE THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY DURING THE PROCESS OF CELL-BREAKDOWN. RAPID BODILY CALCIFICATION WILL OCCURE UPON COMPLETION._

"Well, that sure sounds good, Ethan." Zoe commented, reading over his shoulder. "But how the hell are we gonna go bout' gettin' a sample from Eveline? She don't exactly like us right now."

"Fuck, I don't know." Ethan replied, smacking the desk in frustration. "We've got the damn machine right here, but of course we need to go and get a mother fu…

Suddenly a memory flashed across his mind… it was the image of Mia back inside the ship… forcibly pressing something into his hands right before being taken over again by Eveline… she had quickly rambled something to him about it being important, and that he had to take it from her. At the time Ethan had barely given it any thought, since he was busy immediately thereafter with trying to stop her from killing Zoe… but he had slipped it into his pocket.

"No way." He said almost in disbelief as he took the vial out of his pocket. "Could this be why Mia was trying to give this to me? Was she… was she trying to save us?"

Zoe just kind of shrugged, and there was only one way to find out if this was the case, so Ethan placed the vial into the synthesizer. Almost immediately the small machine came to life, rapidly spinning and shaking the hard-plastic vial until its contents were bubbling as if they were being heated, and then the contents drained down into the machine. There was some more shaking and whirring as the two of them eagerly watched, and then everything stopped.

The machine went silent, making Ethan start to worry that something had gone wrong… but then a side compartment popped open, and there inside of a hypodermic cartridge… was the still bubbly green chemical. Ethan and Zoe just looked at each other with a mixture of both excitement and disbelief on their faces, and he couldn't believe that they really had a way to stop Eveline, even as he took the closed hypodermic cartridge out of the processer and placed it in his pocket… and then there was a gunshot.

It took Ethan a moment to realize what was happening as the chamber was lit up with a flash of light, but then the echoing _bang_ brought his thoughts into focus, especially when it was followed by a bullet slamming into the processer kit, making sparks fly as the two of them jumped back. Looking around for the source of the gunfire, Ethan turned back the way they came, and a knot formed in his stomach when he found it.

"Ain't too smart tresspassin' round' _here_ , city-boy." Lucas Baker said, keeping Anderson's long lost police pistol aimed at the two of them. "Now how the _fuck_ did ya'll find this place, an' how the _hell_ did ya'll get past Eveline?"

"Lucas, you fuckin' piece-a shit!" Zoe snapped, starting toward him. "We're your _blood_ , how could you do…

Her words were stopped as the bald man pulled the trigger, making the short-haired woman gasp as a bullet struck the rocks by her feet. She was so startled by this that she stumbled backwards, and would have fallen if Ethan hadn't caught her, and Lucas seemed to be so amused by the whole scene that he started laughing.

"How could I _what_ , you stupid bitch?" He said, the laughter slowly fading from his voice. "Use ya'll like the worthless _lab-monkeys_ you was? I did it cause' _fuck-ya'll_ , that's why. Member' when the old man smacked my face cause' I was checkin' my phone at supper? Member' when that old hag cussed me out cause' I was out all night? Fuck them! An' you, you little fuckin' brat… callin' me a pervert jus' cause' I was lookin' at you doin' your stupid yoga crap… fuck you, too!"

"I was in my _underwear_ , you… you _pervert_!" Zoe yelled back. "And that ain't no excuse for leavin' us like that for three years! _Three Goddamn years_ , Lucas! You could'a gone for help… you could'a made the serum an' saved us!"

"Hey, we can argue like this all day!" Ethan interrupted, stepping in front of the short-haired woman. "But the _fact_ is that pretty soon Eveline's gonna wake up, and I don't think she's very happy with _any_ of us right now, so how about this? Lucas, we don't want any trouble… as far as I'm concerned, we _never_ saw you here, okay? Just let me and Zoe walk out of here, and that will be the end of it… all we want to do is leave."

His hope was that Lucas would be more concerned with doing… _whatever_ he still had to do in this place, than he would be with the two of them, especially with the ever-increasing of a certain little girl waking up from her latest nap. The reality, however, was that the bald man had a loaded pistol pointed at them… he had killed an untold amount of people… and no matter what else happened, Ethan could not stand the thought of losing _Zoe_ right after what happened to Mia.

"Oh, eat a dick, city-boy." Lucas replied with a sneer. "What's wrong, ya'll lost Mia, an' now you wanna go runnin' off with my sister instead? Well, guess what, _Ethan_ ; I ain't scared of Eveline like ya'll are, an' I ain't never _been_. Hell, I even had me a crush on her last year when she was lookin' like Mia's twin… but then she got all nasty lookin' an'… well, that's the end'a that."

It seemed like every time Ethan thought that Lucas couldn't get any more sick or depraved, he would start talking again, and each time would prove that assumption false. On top of being deranged, the bald man must have been hallucinating as well, since Eveline looked like any ordinary twelve year old girl. As much of a monster as she was, she wasn't _nasty looking_ , nor did she look like _Mia's twin_ … Mia's _daughter_ , maybe, but… as much as Ethan hated the little girl, he found himself getting angry at the thought of the bald man having such thoughts about her.

"Lucas what the _hell_ is wrong with you?!" Zoe demanded with a disgusted look on her face. "Yeah, she looks like Mia, sure, but Eveline's jus' a little girl, you sicko! How do you…

Suddenly the short-haired woman stopped in mid-sentence, and now her anger toward her brother was quickly replaced by an expression of dread all across her face. At first Ethan didn't understand what was going on with her, but then he shifted his gaze away from Lucas… and onto the area immediately behind him. It was now apparent that the fighting and arguing had gone on for too long, resulting with Eveline stepping out of the shadows… and the little girl did not look very happy to see _any_ of them.


	40. Chapter 40 Desperate Escape

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Forty: Desperate Escape**

Slowly the snide grin on Lucas's face faded away as he seemed to figure out what was going on behind him. He then took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before turning around and shooting Eveline right between the eyes. The little girl gasped as her eyes crossed, and then Lucas pulled the trigger three more times, sending three more bullets into her chest while the chamber echoed with bang-bang-bang.

Although she stumbled backwards from the hits, Eveline remained on her feet until the bald man aimed downward, and fired another shot into her leg just above the knee. The pistol clicked empty the next time Lucas pulled the trigger, so he simply stepped forward and struck Eveline across the face with a hard _whack_ , and this was finally enough to make the little girl fall over.

"I been waitin' _three damn years_ to do that to you." The bald man said as he reloaded the pistol. "Made me _sick_ havin' to fake bein' one of your puppets, you nasty old _hag_ … them chicken-shit scientists was all like: _'oh, you gotta be real careful dealin' with Eveline, she's dangerous'_. Well, fuck them, cause' you ain't shit once you lose control, an' now they're gonna have to come collect a busted up ol' _corpse_ when I'm done with you."

"They left you here, didn't they, Lucas?" The little girl asked, looking up at him as her wounds faded away. "The doctors, I mean… you did your job like a good little boy, and when things went bad you called for help, but no one came. That's okay… no one came when Mia called for help, either… and now you're going to die here."

The moment the confrontation between Lucas and Eveline began, Ethan had already started looking for a way out. Aside from the way they came in, there was a collapsed passage that had once been the way into the deeper parts of the mines… obviously not an option for escape these days… but there was also an old ladder that was bolted onto the rock wall. It led up to a small carved passage above the collapsed tunnel, possibly created after the collapse to rescue trapped miners, but at this point _any_ way out was a good one.

Neither the little girl nor the bald man paid any attention as Ethan and Zoe quietly made their way over to the ladder, and when Lucas began firing more shots with the pistol, it covered any noise made by the short-haired woman climbing up toward the passage. Once Zoe was about halfway up, he climbed onto the ladder as well, taking a look back to see that there was now something leaking into the mine. It was more of the liquefied black mold; spilling in through small cracks in the walls, and Lucas was too busy shooting Eveline in the stomach to notice that it was pooling up right behind him.

Realizing that there wasn't much time left to escape undetected, Ethan scrambled up the ladder, and he was crawling into the small passage, but couldn't resist stopping to see what was going on. Lucas was still yelling at Eveline, rotating between shooting the little girl and hitting her with the pistol, and he was so focused on her that he wasn't aware of the black puddle solidifying as it formed one of Eveline's _friends_ right behind him.

The bald man was bringing his arm for another hit, when the now fully formed monster swung its claws, and Lucas screamed in shock while his severed hand fell to the floor, still gripping the pistol. He gasped in disbelief as he looked at his bloody stump of a wrist, and then the bald man tried to run away… right into the waiting arms of the seconds and third creatures that had been forming. Together they restrained Lucas, turning him back to face Eveline, and then allowing him to fall to his knees when the little girl punched him in the groin.

Once he was down, the monsters held the bald man's arms so that he couldn't move, and Eveline was about to say something after putting her hand on his shoulder, when her words were stopped as Lucas cleared his throat and spit right into her eye. Remaining still and motionless for a second or two as if deciding how to react, the little girl giggled when she wiped her eye on her sleeve… and then she wretched violently, before vomiting a stream of the liquefied black mold right onto Lucas's head.

The bald man screamed in terror and agony as the black substance flowed down his face and body, but instead of spilling down onto the ground, it was just as quickly absorbed into his skin. Lucas continued to scream and convulse as the black mold re-infected him… no, wait… there was whiteness now… no, Eveline wasn't infecting him again… she was _calcifying_ him. The bald man's movements and sounds became weaker and slower as the whiteness spread across his body much faster than it had done with any of the others.

Ethan knew that he should have been escaping this whole time, but he just couldn't bring himself to move, even once Lucas had been reduced to a solid white statue. As for Eveline, she just looked at it for a second, before kissing the tips of her finger, and touching it to the bald man's forehead, causing him to collapse into a pile of white dust. The little girl then giggled and clapped her hands excitedly, as if watching people calcify was actually pleasurable for her… and then her expression became stern as her eyes moved over to Ethan.

"I'll give you _one_ last chance to be my daddy, Ethan." She said calmly, offering her hand. "I know you're in love with Zoe, so I'll let her be my mommy, and then we can all go home together. We can even go back to Texas if you want, since the doctors won't know where to find me, and then we'll _really_ be a family. Come down from there and take my hand, Ethan… this really _is_ your last chance."

She just stood there with her hand held out as if she really expected him to take her offer, but soon the little girl slowly lowered it. Eveline then took a deep breath, shook her head in disappointment, and started angrily walking toward the ladder. This action finally made Ethan able to move, and move he did, scrambling through the small passageway, and then tumbling down into a larger tunnel on the other side of the collapse. Zoe was there with the flashlight waiting for him, so not wanting to take time to say what was happening, he jumped to his feet, grabbed her by the hand, and started running down the tunnel.

Well, it was supposed to be a run, but since the narrow flashlight beam was the only thing they had to help get around obstacles, it became a kind of awkward hobble, since the part of the mine was far less maintained than the earlier sections had been. The short-haired woman seemed to understand the urgency for getting away, so they continued on, trying to avoid the jagged rocks that were sticking out of the ground, as well as the low spots that nearly hit Ethan in the face every time he tried to look behind them.

"Where are you running to, Ethan?" Eveline's voice echoed from the darkness. "There's nowhere to hide in a place like this… especially since _so_ many miners were buried alive back there. Can't you feel them, Ethan? They can feel _you_."

Suddenly there was a gurgling sound off to the left, and when they stopped running in order to see what it was, Zoe gasped as her flashlight shined onto another one of the little girl's _friends_ that was forming onto what looked like a _very_ old skeleton. Quickly passing the light beam all around the tunnel, they saw that more of the liquefied mold was leaking in, and a new monster started to form whenever it touched even a single old bone from all the lost miners.

If the situation had been different, Ethan might have wanted to know what happened for all of those miners to have ended up trapped there under the rubble; probably a really bad cave-in, or an accident with explosives… but since the situation wasn't different, and there was no time for entertaining such curiosities, the two of them were only left with one option.

"Keep running, Zoe!" He yelled, pulling her along. "They won't be able to catch us if we keep running!"

In the swaying of the flashlight beam, Ethan could see that more and more of those clawed and moldy monsters were forming on both sides of the tunnel, no matter how far they ran into the mine, leaving no time to catch their breath. Soon both of them were breathing heavily, and not long after that, Zoe started to stumble. The short-haired woman was clearly exhausted, and she was having trouble keeping up, so Ethan did the only thing he could: He scooped her up into his arms, and kept running.

Now, this wasn't exactly a sprint like in the movies where the hero easily picks up the girl and carries her to safety, since it was real life and Ethan was also getting tired. It did, however, give Zoe a chance to catch her breath without having to risk getting sliced by one of the monsters, but now it was getting harder for Ethan to run… especially since now they seemed to be going uphill.

Wait a second… uphill?! Did that mean that they were getting close to the other end of the mine? Now huffing and puffing like he had just run a marathon, Ethan was forced to set Zoe down, but thankfully by then she had caught her breath. There was no way for someone her size to take a turn carrying him, but she grabbed his hand and helped to pull him along, making it a bit easier to scale the ever-steepening slope.

"Come on, Ethan!" Zoe exclaimed. "I think we're almost there!"

It was hard to tell just how far they had gone through the mine, especially since he had no reference, but the short-haired woman's words were enough to make him keep going… and the sound of the monsters shambling behind them was pretty motivating as well. Then he saw it, a sliver of light coming from a little bit farther up the slope… however, now that the goal was in sight, it was starting to feel like his legs were made of rubber.

"You'll never make it, Ethan." Eveline's voice called again. "You couldn't save your friend Travis… you couldn't save the cop… and you couldn't save Mia. Do you hear me, Ethan? You can't save Zoe, either… you can't save _anyone_ from me… not even _yourself_."

Struggling for all he was worth to make it up the slope, Ethan was overjoyed when the flashlight beam fell onto what looked like an old wooden slat door, but he nearly fell backwards when Zoe had to let go of his hand in order to pull it open. He managed to keep his balance, and when the door was pulled open, the light coming from the single hanging bulb in the center of the small room beyond, seemed like heaven. So they rushed through, slamming the wooden door right in the faces of the pursuing monsters, but anyone could see that it would not be enough to stop them.

"There!" Zoe exclaimed, moving off to the side. "Ethan, gimme a hand with this!"

There was an incredibly large metal shelving unit set in the center of this… somehow _familiar_ looking room, and now the short-haired woman was trying to topple it over. There was no argument from him, so Ethan got around to the other side, and together they pushed it forward. At first it was a struggle to get it off balance, and the monsters were just starting to push the door open, when the metal shelves fell. The unit struck the door with such force that some of the monsters could be heard falling backwards as it was slammed shut, cutting them off from the mine, the monsters… and hopefully Eveline as well.


	41. Chapter 41 Playtime's Over

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Forty One: Playtime's Over**

Standing there in the glow of the single hanging lightbulb as he and Zoe caught their breath, Ethan couldn't help feeling like he had been in this room before. The first thing he saw after turning away from the door, which was almost completely hidden from view on this side, was a workbench. There weren't any tools in sight, neither on the bench itself nor on the abandoned racks above, and the old toolbox on the end had been left open, revealing that there was nothing inside.

There was, however, the smashed and useless remains of a familiar looking video camera on the concrete floor, and Ethan was starting toward it, when he stopped upon seeing the room's only other feature. It was a cage… and not just _any_ cage, but one with a busted chain hanging down, and a recently used bed on the far wall… and almost instantly he had a very vivid flashback of the last time he had been there.

"Ethan, what's wrong?" Zoe asked, walking up to him. "I ain't hearin' Eveline's monsters no more, so you should be happy bout' that."

"It's not about the monsters, _or_ Eveline." He explained, putting his hand on one of the cage's bars. "I think… I think this is where I first found Mia. I was just starting to get over her being gone, and then out of nowhere… there she was. I was so happy to have her back in my life, but I didn't know about the infections, or Eveline, or anything."

Zoe quickly confirmed that this was, in fact, the same place; explaining that they were once again in the basement of the guest house, and that Eveline had made Lucas put Mia in there because of her constant attempts to escape. It seemed that Lucas's report about Mia's mind moving in and out of the infection was accurate, and apparently every time that she had come back into reality, she tried to leave the property.

"Eveline would be comin' down here all the time, visitin' her." The short-haired woman explained. "I think on some level, she _really_ thought Mia was her mama. Poor kid… if Eveline weren't such a murderous little monster-child, I reckon I might start feelin' sorry for her."

"Well, I certainly won't." Ethan replied, letting go of the cage and turning back toward Zoe. "That _girl_ is an abomination… she's a _weapon_ , a _monster_ , and all she knows how to do is kill innocent people, and…

The anger and hatred toward the little girl was powerful as it surged through his mind, but then all of a sudden it stopped, making way for another thought that just appeared out of thin air. If they were in the basement of the guest house, as in… the very first place that he entered after discovering that old van belonging to those _Sewer Gators_ people… it meant that they were almost out. All he and Zoe had to do was go upstairs, walk out the front door, and then keep going down the overgrown road until they reached Dulvey.

"We're almost out." He said in disbelief as a smile started to form across his face. "Zoe, we're almost off the property, come on!"

Grabbing the short-haired woman by the hand, the thought of freedom and returning to the real world had reenergized Ethan to the point where he was able to run again, and Zoe had to fight to keep her balance when he started pulling her toward the exit. With her in tow, Ethan ran around the corner, through the darkened hallway, and his footsteps made a loud thud-thud-thud until the two of them went through the door to another familiar looking hallway.

The morning sun was high enough to send bright yellow light between the boards that were nailed to the windows, allowing him to clearly see the way to freedom… but also the damage to the house that came as a result of his first fight with Mia. This time the flashbacks were enough to stop him from moving forward at all; remembering seeing his wife's monstrous form coming at him on the stairs, followed by a phantom pain in his palm when he remembered her stabbing him with a screwdriver before getting the chainsaw, and…

"Ethan, snap out of it." Zoe said, gripping his shoulders and shaking him back into reality. "I know it hurts to member' all this stuff, but we're _almost_ there… so let's get movin'."

Now it was the short-haired woman who was pulling _him_ along, leading Ethan down the hallway, through the filthy kitchen, and back around the cluttered living room where the piles of old newspapers remained just where he had seen them the first time. Now all they had to do was round one last corner, where they passed the stairs leading to the second floor… and nearly left skid-marks across the floor when they stopped in their tracks.

"And just _where_ do you think _you're_ going?" A stern looking Eveline asked, standing in front of the door. "Oh, you wanted to use this door and leave, Ethan? Well, I wanted a family, so I guess we _both_ get to be disappointed today, huh?"

The little girl then started walking toward them, the expression on her face becoming angrier with each step, and leaving Ethan and Zoe no choice but to back away. There really wasn't anywhere for them to run to, unless they went back into the basement and through the monster-filled mines… but then this plan was halted when they both fell backwards once their heels hit the staircase.

"Who… the _fuck_ … do you think you are, Ethan?" Eveline demanded, still approaching as the two of them did a sort of scrambling crab-walk up the stairs. "Huh? _Who_?! I welcomed you into my home, I was gonna let you be my daddy… but instead you _killed_ my whole family, and now you're gonna just _run off_ with my big sister? That's not very nice, Ethan… but good news… I'm gonna _force_ you to love me like I did to Jack and Marguerite… you, _both_ of you are gonna be _just like_ they were… and then maybe you'll play nice with me."

"Eveline, this has to _stop_!" Zoe exclaimed, the two of them reaching the second floor and continuing to scoot away. "Look at all the people you done hurt, an' all the sufferin' round' you… I _seen_ you be nice at times; I _know_ you can be a good girl, but you gotta stop hurtin' people, _please_!"

Walking faster than the two of them were crawling backwards, the little girl reached the short-haired woman first, and immediately backhanded her. There was a loud _whack_ as her fist slammed into the side of Zoe's face hard enough to make her collapse, followed by a _thump_ when her head struck the wooden floor. Eveline looked like she was about to kick her, but by this time Ethan had gotten up, and interrupted this plan by making an attack of his own. He wrapped his arms around the little girl when they collided, pinning her arms to her sides as they crashed to the floor, but it only took a moment for Eveline to free one of her arms.

Ethan tried to keep her restrained, but found himself only able to gasp when her hand clamped down onto his throat, and then she forced him to bend almost completely backwards so that she could get up. He punched her in the mouth, but this didn't do much to stop her from standing up and smoothing out her clothes with her free hand… before lifting him up and tossing him across the second floor platform with even more ease than Jack and Mia had done.

There wasn't any wind to be knocked out of him when he crashed into the wall, causing pieces of wood and plaster to rain down on him as he sunk to the floor. For a few moments he was content to simply lay there, waiting for the room to stop spinning, but then he looked up and saw that Eveline was standing over him. Ethan tried to move, but then next thing he knew, he was seeing stars after being backhanded by her, and then the little girl wrapped both of her hands around his neck.

"I'm _really_ sorry, Ethan, but you have to die now." She said, squeezing even harder than before. "You're just like Mia… you'll never love me no matter what I do… but Zoe can still be my mommy. I still love you, though, Ethan… and after you die, I can make you into one of my friends. Isn't that nice? Even after _everything_ you did to me, we can still play together."

"Play?" Ethan gasped, looking up at her. "Playtime's… over."

While the little girl had been busy strangling him, Ethan had reached into his pocket, taken out the hypodermic cartridge, and popped off the cap. He then used the very last of his strength to grab Eveline by her hair with one hand… while jamming the necrotoxin into her exposed neck with the other. There was a quick _hiss_ as the cartridge was emptied, and then the little girl screamed when she let go of his throat.

Eveline made a kind of rasping, gagging sound as she stumbled away from him, falling onto the floor a couple steps away, but then something strange happened. Her whole body began to distort, becoming blurry to the point where he could no longer tell what he was seeing, and then suddenly she came back into focus. Only it was no longer a little girl that he saw lying on the floor… but the white-haired and elderly form of Granny Baker, the old woman who he had randomly seen sleeping around the Baker estate.

" _You_?" Ethan found himself asking out of confusion as he caught his breath. "What?"

Suddenly all of the content of Lucas's reports started to make sense, as well as the comments he had made right before the little girl had killed him. Had Eveline… had Eveline somehow started aging faster at some point? Ethan knew that she had possessed a strong degree of psychic abilities, so had the form of the little girl… had it been nothing but an illusion from the start?

"Why?" The old woman rasped as she started to bleed from the eyes. "Ethan, why… does everyone… hate me? I just… I just wanted… a family."

Instead of her blood being red, it was just as black as the liquefied moldy substance, and now her skin was starting to rip in small places all across her body, allowing more to leak out. She tried to get up, but only got as far as a single arm bracing her before collapsing back down, and she tried to say something, but the black substance was now pouring from her mouth, making her only able to make a rather pathetic kind of gurgling sound.

"I'm sorry, Eveline, I really am." Ethan replied, getting up to his hands and knees. "I wish there was another way, but… goodbye."

"No!" The old woman suddenly screamed as she sat up. "No, this isn't right! It's not fair! _IT'S NOT FAIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR_!"

Suddenly the whole house started shaking, and then part of the wall behind the elderly Eveline exploded outward, bringing with it a massive stream of the liquefied black moldy substance. She gritted her teeth as it struck her, but she was not washed away… instead the substance was absorbed into her… and now her body was changing. In a few seconds she no longer looked human, and she could be heard screaming in rage while the mass of black mold that replaced her was getting bigger.


	42. Chapter 42 End of the Night

**Biohazard: Resident Evil VII**

 **Chapter Forty Two: End of the Night**

The warning section on the instructions to make the necrotoxin had been clear about subjects becoming more hostile during cellular breakdown, but this… standing there watching as the now elderly Eveline morphed into a giant mass of swirling black mold… this was beyond _anything_ Ethan had expected. The good news was that there was some whiteness beginning to form across the outer edges of the mass, but each time it appeared, the mold would shift so that it was swallowed up, as if Eveline was fighting the process.

He heard her scream in rage again, and there seemed to be no end to the amount of liquefied mold that she could summon, as if Eveline were recalling every bit of the black substance that she had ever vomited, in an attempt to overpower the necrotoxin. More and more holes were busted in the walls, allowing the black substance to flow in at greater volumes, and now the guest house was shaking even more violently.

"Zoe!" Ethan called, rushing over to her. "Zoe, wake up!"

For a moment he was worried that the blow she had taken from Eveline had done serious damage, but let out a sigh of relief when the short-haired woman started to move around almost immediately once he helped her sit up. There was no time to wait for her to recover, so Ethan scooped Zoe up in his arms, and she must've opened her eyes after he took a few steps, because the short-haired woman suddenly gripped him tightly while crying out in fright.

"What the fuck is _that_?!" She shrieked, pointing behind him as he kept moving toward the stairs. "What is… oh, my God, it's got her _face_!"

Again, Ethan knew that he should have just kept going, but upon hearing those words, he couldn't help turning around to take a look just before reaching the stairs. The thing that had once been Eveline was no longer a formless, swirling mass… it had now reconfigured itself so that it had what appeared to be tentacles anchoring itself to the walls and floor, and every couple of seconds the main bulk of it would move in such a way that there was, in fact, the distorted image of Eveline's face in the center.

The monster roared as it tried to shake off the expanding whiteness, shaking the house so hard that pieces of the ceiling broke off at the same time, and reminding Ethan that he really needed to start running. So down the stairs he want, struggling to keep his balance while carrying Zoe, and then breaking into a dead sprint once he reached the first floor. There was now no longer anything blocking his way to the exit, and he rammed into the door at full speed, flooding the entryway with light as he ran out onto the front porch.

Now that the sun was higher in the sky, he was able to see the path that would lead him and Zoe back past the abandoned Sewer Gators van, and onto the road a short distance later. However, he had just barely gotten away from the front porch, when there was a massive explosion that knocked them to the ground while wood and stone debris rained down around them. Shielding Zoe as his own body was stung by several small rocks and wood splinters, the two of them looked back once it stopped, only to gasp at what they saw.

The mass of black mold had crashed its way through the roof of the guest house, now sticking out like the head of a black snake, and the worst part was that the Eveline's face could be clearly seen at the very end… massive, and scowling angrily as it turned down to look at them. It looked like she was trying to say something, but the words turned into groans of irritation, since her attempts to shake off the now rapidly spreading whiteness were hardly having any success at all.

" _Damn you, Ethan_!" The monster roared as the whiteness started to touch its face like encroaching fingers. " _Damn you all… to hell_!"

The monster then shrieked as it swooped down toward them, opening its mouth to consume them like a snake coming after a field mouse, and Ethan covered Zoe with his body while she screamed as well, not that there was anything that he could really do to protect her once the monster reached them. So he shut his eyes tightly, hugging the short-haired woman as he waited for the end… and waited… and waited…

Now several seconds had passed by without feeling the final agony of being consumed by Eveline, and actually… the whole world seemed to have fallen silent. For the longest time Ethan didn't want to open his eyes, afraid that the monster would still be there, and when he finally turned to look… it _was_. He gasped upon seeing the massive and angry face of Eveline just a few feet from where he and Zoe were lying… but it wasn't moving. It was just hovering there like a statue, and it took Ethan a couple seconds to realize that it had turned completely white.

"Is… is she dead?" Zoe asked, barely in a whisper.

Suddenly it moved, making the short-haired woman shriek as she buried her head in Ethan's chest, but it turns out that Eveline was no longer coming after them. In fact, the movement was the start of her body's complete collapse as cracks quickly spread across the surface, and piece by piece, the monster that was once Eveline started to fall apart. Just as it had happened with Jack, Marguerite, Lucas, and Mia, Eveline had become completely calcified. She was now crumbling, and although a large amount of her body remained sticking out of the roof, the face had become nothing but powder.

"Yeah, Zoe." Ethan replied, still holding her as he laid down on the ground. "I think she's dead."

The short-haired woman started to cry a little, and why not? For her a nightmare that lasted _three_ whole years and consumed her entire family was _finally_ over. She hugged him again, and he squeezed her as well, giving her a kiss on the cheek… and then receiving one from her on the lips when she turned to look at him. This caught Ethan by surprise, since it was the last thing he expected to happen after everything they had been through… but it was still nice… the first nice thing that he had felt in what seemed like forever.

So they kissed again, both with tears running down their cheeks; feeling a mixture of sadness for the loved ones they had lost, and also an uncontrollable joy at managing to survive something that had claimed the lives of so many others. These tears intensified as they both started to cry, and Ethan held Zoe as tightly as he could. There was something that Mia had told him once… that when one door closed, another one opened. In the three years that she had been gone, he had just barely started to accept it… and then she was back… only to be taken away a second time.

"Take me away from here, Ethan." Zoe sobbed into his shoulder. "Somewhere far, far, away… I don't never wanna see this place again."

So was this the way it was supposed to be? Now that the door to a life with Mia had been slammed in his face, had another door opened? One where he still had a future… but one with Zoe Baker? He supposed that there would be plenty of time to figure this out on the way into town, but then all of his thoughts were interrupted by a new sound. It was barely audible at first, but quickly intensified until he recognized it as the sound of a helicopter. Yes, there was a large helicopter coming into view as it circled the Baker estate… but who was it?

There was a logo on the side that Ethan could see when it stopped to hover above them… a logo that said _Umbrella Corporation_ , and now some ropes were lowered from the helicopter, which several heavily armed men used to slide down to the ground. But who were these people, Ethan wondered as they spread out to survey the area? Were they the fabled _Calvary_ , arriving about a day late and a dollar short to save the day? Or were they the ones that Lucas had been trying to signal? The ones who Mia worked for… the ones that made Eveline.

There wasn't much that he or Zoe would have been able to do if these guys were the enemy, since they were both exhausted to the point of being unable to move… but then one of the armed men started walking toward them. He waved to the others, announcing that it looked like they had _two survivors_ , and then he knelt down with them as a pair of stretchers were starting to be lowered from the helicopter. On the man's radio, a report could be heard coming in from other teams that _no other survivors_ had been located on the property.

"It's all right, you're safe now." The armed man said as he removed his gasmask. "I'm Redfield, and we're gonna get you out of here, so just hold tight."

Reports continued coming in on Redfield's radio, this time about locating the source of an _enemy transmission_ they had intercepted, but that there was no sign of the agent who had sent it. Well, as far as Ethan could figure, this made the armed men the good guys, and he was never happier in his life than when the two of them were secured onto the stretchers, and hooked onto the ropes in order to be taken up.

"The _fuck_ took ya'll so long?" Zoe asked just before they were lifted.


End file.
